


A Tale of Fire

by Bluejaykat



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Avatar!Jongdae, Fire Nation Prince!Chanyeol, Fire Nation Prince!Jongdae, Gen, aged down Jongdae (Hes like 15), avatar AU, baekhyun is an evil piece of shit in this sorry yall, brothers Jongdae and Chanyeol, earthbender!kyungsoo, firebender!baekhyun, firebender!chanyeol, more character tags to be added as they show up, previous avatar!jonghyun, previousavatar!jiyong, previousavatar!yifan, so many tags holy shit nvm I give up, waterbender!Minseok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-05 02:19:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 35,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluejaykat/pseuds/Bluejaykat
Summary: Another EXO Avatar AU no one asked for that started out as a quick oneshot and somehow turned into a whole ass fic.





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I love Avatar and I love Jongdae so here I am. I picked Jongdae as the avatar because I figured his powers did a little bit of everything. Storm has wind and rain (water) and the then obviously lightning, and in The War album on the card about their powers it says he has slight magnetism abilities so there we go. Also he’s my UB so what can I say. 
> 
> NOTE: although I took heavy inspiration from the show, this isn’t in cannon with the show at all, and there are some things that I just made up to fit with the story, so don’t expect a perfectly show-accurate Avatar universe here.

He remembered when it started. The two of them were no more than six or seven, and had been outside playing in the courtyard, practicing their fire bending. His younger brother had always been a better bender than him, that was not a surprise, but that….that was something he had only ever read about in books or on scrolls depicting forms that were old and dusty and kept in their library. There was absolutely no way that Jongdae had ever read them, either, given that he had just started reading last year, let alone complicated explanations on bending. Yet it was unmistakeable, the blue tendrils curling from his fingertips as he closed his eyes, solidifying into a small bolt of lightning that streaked across the courtyard and embedded itself in the far wall, causing the stone to crumble as it made impact. Chanyeol had gaped at the boy, disbelief written in his eyes. Even the best fire-benders in the kingdom couldn’t bend lightning, and it was so rare it was considered a lost art.

The sound of the wall shattering a bit made Jongdae open his eyes wide.

“Oh! Did I do that?!” he panicked. “Don’t tell mom and dad, please!?” 

“They’re going to find out anyway, dummy, theres a huge hole in the wall! Be more careful next time.” he scolded, crossing his arms and playing off his shock.

“Channieeee! You’re always so mean!” his younger brother’s face fell and he stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. 

It was true, Chanyeol was mean. Most of it stemmed from jealousy. His parents showered their youngest with attention and pride in his superior bending skills. Also Jongdae was cute and usually got what he wanted, and Chanyeol was expected to act like the heir to the throne. He sighed in frustration and stomped his foot.

“Jongdae! Chanyeol!” their mother’s voice floated across the open space and they saw her standing on the edge of the grass under the massive archways, waving towards them.

“She’s going to kill us….” Chanyeol muttered, grabbing Jongdae by the sleeve of his rich tunic, and dragging him in the direction of the woman. Jongdae let himself be dragged along, sniffing.

“Did you boys do that?” she asked sternly, pointing to the hole in the wall with her slim fingers.

“Uhhh…” they shuffled their feet and lowered their eyes to the ground, neither one of them wanting to admit to anything. Finally Jongdae mumbled out an apologetic ‘sorry’.

“Jongdae. Was that you?” she sighed and rubbed her nose. “Well, no matter, I’ll see about fixing it tomorrow. Run along inside and get ready for diner. Your father is having some generals over, and you need to look presentable.” she shooed them towards the door, and Jongdae flashed her a toothy smile, happily skipping off, already having forgotten about the whole thing. He was a naturally happy child. It just annoyed Chanyeol even more. He tapped his mother lightly on the shoulder.

“Mother? Can I talk to you?” he looked up at her, his dark eyes meeting hers as she narrowed them down at him tiredly.

“Yes, Chanyeol? What is it? Make it quick, you need to go get ready.”

He took a deep breath. She might not believe him, but he had to tell someone. Clenching his fists, he squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in.

“Jongdae can bend lightning I saw him do it thats what the hole in the wall is from!” 

He burst out all in one breath, waiting anxiously for her response. An unreadable expression crossed her face and she knelt down to his level, taking his chin in her hand, making him focus on her. It was times like this his mother scared him, he felt as if he was being sucked into her magnetic eyes.  
“Chanyeol, is this true?” her tone was serious and almost icy.

He nodded furiously, beginning to get very afraid and wanting to run back into the palace. She considered him thoughtfully for a moment before nodding slowly and releasing him and straightening, dusting off her robes, expression returning to a neutral smile.

“Alright, thank you for telling me. Run along now.”

He threw open the doors to the great hall, running upstairs to their bedroom, where Jongdae probably already was. Carefully entering, he froze upon seeing his younger brother lying on the bed, the intricate handle of a dagger deeply embedded in his chest, their mother’s dagger. The ruby eye of the dragon glinting at him accusingly as he backed away in horror, stumbling over something and falling backwards into darkness….

 

He awoke with a start. He had been having the same dream every night for the past week, and it was starting to get to him. He sighed, shoulders drooping. He remembered well the lightning incident. It had been the beginning of…this. A few weeks later Jongdae had splashed him in the face while he was trying to read a book by the fountain in the courtyard. He had jumped up, spluttering in anger, only to find no sign of his mischievous younger brother. Splash. 

“Stop it you horrible little demon!” Chanyeol shrieked, sending a ball of flame off in a random direction. 

There was giggling from up in the tree and he looked to see Jongdae reclining on a branch casually and trying to muffle his laughter.

“YA!” the older growled, shaking his fist at him, only to be smacked again full on with a small ball of water.

That cut off his yelling quickly and he wiped his face in silence before turning around and stalking inside the house. 

“Yeolie! Hey Chanyeolie! Come back, I’m sorry!” he heard his brother’s called apologies, but continued towards his room and shut the door.

 

And then something had clicked and it all started making sense. All the little things he hadn’t noticed or payed much attention to before were crystal clear. Like how Jongdae never got wet in the rain, or how he didn’t have the natural aversion to water proper to most fire benders, or how he could somehow lift rocks that should be entirely too big for him just to look for lizards.

That had been ten years ago, and Jongdae had only gotten stronger. He had somehow managed to hide it from their parents, but Chanyeol had long ago guessed the truth. Jongdae would hold conversations with people who weren’t there, and he would disappear for hours somewhere no one could find him. Although he was by far the best fire bender in the nation, he never showed it. On the one hand, Chanyeol felt he should be honored that his brother had been chosen to be the Avatar; on the other, he had be trained his whole life to hate that exact person, that they were a bringer of destruction. Lately, however, Chanyeol had been far too busy to take much notice of his brother’s odd habits and worry about his misgivings, since his eighteenth birthday was coming soon, and his father had recently been putting more and more pressure on him. But last week, he had accidentally overheard a conversation between his parents late at night. He hadn’t meant to overhear, he had only been passing by the usually empty throne room on his way back from the armory, when the voices of his parents caught his attention.

“I’ve suspected it for a long time, and so have you.” his mother snapped.

“If you suspected so strongly, why didn’t you act earlier?” the irritated voice of his father replied sharply.

“He was a child Donghyuk, I’m not a monster.” 

This had peeked Chanyeol’s interest and he had crept up softly until he was right up against the door, peering through the narrow slit to watch the silhouettes cast long shadows across the stone floor, the entire room emitting a red glow that for some reason tonight seemed eerie and ominous. His father paused a moment, considering, before he spoke again.

“Well, he is no longer. And now more powerful than ever. Not even I could stand against the Avatar, even if he is untrained.”

His mother straightened her shoulders, and the young man listening at the door was overcome with a strong sense of deja vu. Her cold, determined demeanor reminded him of how she had first reacted all those years ago when he had told her about Jongdae’s ability to bend lightning. Her delicate white fingers, those same fingers which had always caressed him so tenderly now fingered the dagger at her side with a vicious malice.

“Then we have no choice but to kill him in his sleep.”

Chanyeol gasped softly and fled, running and running and not stopping until he was leaning against their shared bedroom door, breathing heavily. There was no fear of waking Jongdae, the boy slept like a rock, nevertheless, he fought to control his breaths lest he be heard by anyone else. He had never got along with Jongdae, even though the other inexplicably seemed to genuinely like him, but this; hearing his own parents plot to murder their son, his brother, just because he was the Avatar? It was too much. He wanted to cry and yell and scream all at the same time.

His thoughts wandered back again to his telling his mother about Jongdae, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was when she had first started to suspect. He was suddenly hit with guilt, and every night since then, he had been plagued by this same dream, seeing his brother’s dead body pierced through the heart with their mother’s dagger. He needed to warn Jongdae, he deserved at least that.

He stretched and looked over to see his brother still sleeping soundly. At least he wasn’t dead. Chanyeol shook the thoughts away, yawned and got up, hearing a commotion in the courtyard. It was going to be a long day.

“Dae, get up! You’re so lazy!” he chided, poking the sleeper sharply in his ribs.

“Ugh! Yeolie, five more minutes? I’m tired.” the other pouted, rolling over and cocooning himself more into his blankets.

“Fine. Brat. Do whatever you want. I actually have things to do today.” Chanyeol gave him a final shove and sauntered off to get dressed.

 

Jongdae waited until he heard his brother leave the room and his voice fade down the hall from where he was yelling at some poor servant before throwing back the covers and hopping out of bed. He probably shouldn’t be late for breakfast, but today felt like a lazy day. He wanted to go out to the courtyard and pick flowers, but instead he had to listen to his boring astronomy tutor ramble on about the positions of the stars and whatnot. He ran a hand through his long dark hair, tying it up into a ponytail and nearly tripping trying to get dressed and hurry out the door. He wanted to go watch Chanyeol train for his coming of age ceremony, but he also didn’t want to miss food or else his mother might get angry, and she was terrifying when she was angry. Skipping down the hall, the young prince nearly knocked over another servant carrying a bundle of something. 

“Sorry Sheeta!” he apologized to the grumbling elderly woman as she wobbled to regain her balance. 

“Here, let me.” he steadied her and gave her a huge smile before continuing on down the hallway. “Have a nice day!”

He didn’t understand why his elder brother was always so short with them; Jongdae himself knew almost all of the servants in the royal palace by name. Then again, maybe he was the strange one, since everyone else seemed to treat them exactly like Chanyeol did. Jongdae frowned a bit at that. Why was being nice different? Shouldn’t everyone be kind? That’s what Yifan told him: that he should always be kind to everyone.

“Good morning father! Mother! Chanyeolie! I’m up!!” came the cheery greeting as the sixteen year old flung open the doors to the great hall. His family was seated on the rich red carpet in the middle around that mahogany table he had once accidentally singed when he had a fight with Chanyeol over the bean buns.

“Hello dear. Come here.” his mother patted the place next to him and he happily sat down next to her and waited for his food to be brought out.

“So Chanyeol, today, you will meet with Master Youngbae: the greatest fire bender in the nation.” his father began, “besides, of course, our little Master Jongdae here.”

Chanyeol tried not to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the beaming smile the compliment drew from his brother. He knew it was wrong of him to envy the younger, but he was the one who was going to be king, he should be the better fire bender. Instead, he swallowed his emotions and gave a nod.

“You have nearly mastered the art yourself,” their father continued, “and tomorrow you will show our people that you are fit to be their ruler. And perhaps, “ a spark of excitement kindled in his eyes, “one day lead them to conquer the world.”

Conquer the world? Chanyeol had never thought about that. The world. That was certainly better than the Fire Nation. He found himself hungering for it, the command, the power, it was like a fire beginning to burn inside of him. He wanted to rule, he wanted to lead, he wanted to win.

“Conquer the world? Why would you do that?” Jongdae looked up from his food and made a face. “I like our country as it is.”

His mother’s clear laugh echoed in the vaulted halls.

“You know nothing of ruling, my son. You’re too innocent. One day, you’ll understand.”

Jongdae somehow highly doubted this, but he just nodded and went back to eating. It was true, he didn’t understand. Why could they never be happy with the way things were? He must have gotten lost in thought because he was startled by his mother laying a hand on his shoulder. His father and brother had already gone.

“Daydreaming again?” she asked with a smile.

“Um…ye—yes I guess…” he shrugged, taking her hand and standing up. 

“Well I certainly hope you don’t do that during your lessons. And speaking of which, if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late.” she ushered him in the direction of the library.

“Alright alright. Can I go out and watch Chanyeolie practice when I’m done?” he called after her hopefully.

“As you wish, but please stay out of his way. He’s got a big day tomorrow.” she replied, before gliding gracefully towards the outer courtyard. 

So much for collecting flowers.

 

Diner was mostly spent by Chanyeol talking excitedly about the ceremony the next day. Jongdae was extremely tired and it took everything he had not to doze off in the middle of eating. His tutor had worked him hard, insisting on having him memorize the paths of at least three stars, and several equations he was fairly certain were useless to him. 

“Jongdae, honey, you look tired. Why don’t you head on up to bed?” his mother ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Uh huh.” he yawned sleepily, stretching before standing up. “Goodnight mother, goodnight father. Goodnight Yeolie.”

The doors closed behind him as their mother watched him leave with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Finally she turned to Chanyeol suddenly.

“Chanyeol, darling, you have an important day tomorrow. I know you and your brother stay up late bickering, so I think you should sleep in your own room tonight, hmm?” it was definitely an order and not a suggestion, Chanyeol knew, and she was probably right. However, something about the whole thing did not sit well with him. A gut feeling. His eye caught sight of that ruby studded dagger by his mother’s side— he nearly choked on his food.

“Is everything alright?” she narrowed her eyes at him and he nodded vigorously.

“Sorry, yes, that’s a good idea.”

“Good.”

“Mother, father, please excuse me,” he stood up as casually as he could, “I should get as much rest as I can.”

His heart was pounding as he bolted up the stairs towards his brother’s room, pausing just before the door. Would Jongdae even believe him? It sounded a lot like an elaborate prank, and his mother was always so sickeningly fake around him, the kid probably believed she loved him….Then again if he did nothing, his brother would die, and he would have blood on his hands. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and found his brother sitting crosslegged on his bed with his eyes closed as if he was focusing very hard on something. The creak of the door startled him, however, and he jumped, turning to look at Chanyeol.

“Oh. Hi Yeolie.” he started, before noticing his brother’s panicked expression, “What’s wrong?”

“Jongdae, I know we haven’t always gotten along and I’ve been mean to you a lot, but please, you need to listen to me,” he took the younger by the shoulders and looked at him seriously. “Mom and dad know about you. I mean they know about the whole Avatar thing, and Mom is going to kill you. I heard them talking a week ago about it, and I think she’s going to do it tonight. She told me to not to sleep in your room tonight. Dae, please leave. Please, you’ll die if you stay here!” he was practically begging by this point.

Jongdae didn’t say anything for a long time, just looked like he was trying to fight back tears before nodding with a sniffle.

“Jonghyun warned me my life was in danger here, I just….I didn’t want to believe him.” he ended, fiddling with his fingers.

“Well…whatever. Its true.” Chanyeol insisted, tugging him out of bed, “And you’ve got to leave now!”

“Where do I go?!” Jongdae turned to his brother with wide, terrified eyes. In that moment, it hit Chanyeol just how little his brother actually was, how horrible this all must be to him, the people he thought loved him most in the world were the ones trying to murder him. He loved everyone, yet no one loved him.

“I don’t know, Dae, I just…I don’t know.” he ran a hand through his hair, yanking his brother by the hand down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. “Come on, out the back.” 

He paused, motioning for his brother to be silent as a night guard passed by. Having been mischievous when younger was now working to his advantage as he led Jongdae to a small hole in the back of the palace courtyard and threw a dark cape over him, tugging it over the younger’s messy hair. Chanyeol took him by the shoulders and his brother gripped onto him tightly.

“Channie wait…” he paused slightly, looking up at the taller. “Do you…do you love me?”

Chanyeol hesitated. Did he? If not, why was he here, now, risking his life—was he risking his life? After all, what did he even have to loose from this? He sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides.

“You should go.” 

Nonetheless, Jongdae’s own arms wrapped around his waist, hugging the lanky boy close to him. For the briefest instant, Chanyeol quite nearly went with him. He was young and inexperienced, there was no way he would ever make it on his own. But then his own common sense crushed the spark, and he patted his younger brother on the head before telling him to hurry.

And, just like that, his brother way gone. Disappeared through a crack in the wall. Would he ever see him again? For his own sake, Chanyeol hoped not. But, as he snuck back into bedx, something in Chanyeol told him this was not the last he would see of his brother. One day, Jongdae would come back. After all, that was what the Avatar was supposed to do, right? Return.


	2. Escape

“So. Hungry.” Jongdae mumbled to himself as he dragged his feet along through the woods.

He felt like sitting down again, but he had just taken a break ten minutes ago. He had never done this much walking in his entire life, and everything ached. Not to mention, he was completely and totally lost; could be traveling in circles for all he knew. Hungry and tired and scared and dirty, thats what he was. Jonghyun was no help. In fact, Jonghyun hadn’t been around much at all. It was like he had lost any sort of communication with him completely, and it bothered him. So now he was lonely too. Jongdae leaned against a tree and folded his arms, pouting. He knew pouting wouldn’t do him any good, and he should keep moving, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care right now. Suddenly, a flash of color in some bushes nearby caught his eye. Were those—? Upon closer inspection, he discovered them to be exactly what he had hoped for: berries!

“YES!” He yelled, forgetting for a moment that the woods could be crawling with Fire Nation soldiers looking for him.

It had been two days since he’d had any real food. Already, his mouth was watering at the thought of the sweet berries, like the kind they had in the sauce over chicken at dinner….he reached out to pick a few, when he was stopped by a large hand grabbing his wrist firmly but gently. His heart nearly leapt into his mouth and he yelped, trying to yank his arm away. Were they a soldier? Had he been found? Were they going to kill him? Where was Jonghyun when he needed him?

“Let me go!” he yelled, eyes tightly closed, shoving the stranger as hard as he could.

“Whoa, kid, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” The man assured, taking his other hand that was hitting his chest repeatedly and stilling hits movements, “I was just going to tell you not to eat the berries. They’re poisonous.”

“I’m not going back—! ….oh.” What he had said registered in Jongdae’s mind and he instantly opened his eyes and looked up at the strange man sheepishly. “Um…s-sorry. Th-thanks.”

He tried to pull away again and hurry off, but the man clearly wasn’t having it, keeping an insistent hold on him.

“What are you doing out here by yourself, kid?” 

Jongdae looked the stranger up and down, taking in his appearance. He was clearly military from the armor he was wearing, but the distinctly blue robes and the style of his hair was clearly not Fire Nation attire. So he must be water tribe. Jongdae couldn’t decide whether that was a good or bad thing. Water Tribe soldiers here? Where even was here? How close to the castle…? Did they know who he was? Suddenly he felt hyper aware of his own clearly royal Fire Nation garments thinly veiled under the cloak.

“Hey, you alright, kid?” Jongdae blinked, realizing he was being spoken to.

“I uh—“

The man let go of him and crouched down to his level, despite not being overly tall to begin with. 

“I promise I’m not going to hurt you, or take you anywhere you don’t want to go.” he asserted gently, taking hold of Jongdae’s shoulders. “I’m Minseok. What’s your name?”

“Jong—Jongdae.” the younger admitted after hesitating a little.

“You’re honest. I appreciate that. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone who you are.” Minseok straightened up again, chuckling, “although we’ll have to get you a change of clothes, won’t we.”

“You know who I am?!” Jongdae took a few steps back with a gasp.

“Kid, you’re wearing royal fire nation clothes, and your name happens to be the same as Prince Jongdae, that’s more than enough reason to believe that’s who you are.” the elder snorted.

“Are…are you going to kill me….Minseok?” he asked timidly.

“I already said I wouldn’t hurt you. I don’t kill children. Besides, I have no reason to. We clearly have the same enemy.” Minseok shrugged and beckoned Jongdae closer to him. “So, what are you doing out here?”

“My….people wanted to kill me.” Jongdae nudged a leaf with his toe, upsetting a caterpillar, which scurried away.

“Oh? And why would that be?” 

“I…” Jongdae wanted to tell him, but something in him thought it best if he kept the real reason a secret. For now. “I don’t know.”

Minseok hummed, and Jongdae wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. In any case, he didn’t ask any further questions. 

“Come on, Jongdae, let’s get you some food.” 

Jongdae’s eyes lit up at the mention of food and he eagerly tagged along after Minseok.

“You might want to wrap that cloak around you a little tighter. Don’t want my men thinking you’re the enemy. Here.” he draped his extra blue military coat over Jongdae, who nearly disappeared beneath it. 

It wasn’t far towards the camp, which had been pitched in a small clearing. There were about twelve in all, ranging in ages, men and women alike.

“What are you doing here, Minseok?” Jongdae returned the question back to the elder, who just laughed.

“We’re at war, Jongdae. We’re spying, of course.”  
He strode to the center of the camp and motioned for Jongdae to follow.

“General? What have you found?” a female voice came suddenly from behind, making them both turn.

“Ah! Sooyeon. This is Jong—su.” Minseok introduced.

The woman eyed Jongdae. She was younger that Minseok, probably in her early twenties, jet black hair neatly cut to chin length and held back by two braids. Finally a smile broke out over her face.

“Minseok, you just can’t help yourself when kids are involved, can you?”

“I’m almost sixteen—“ Jongdae tried to protest, but the woman simply extended her hand.

“Hello Jongsu. I’m Sooyeon.” 

The first genuine smile in days crossed Jongdae’s face as he took her hand and bowed slightly.

“Oh, he’s polite too! More polite than you!” she smacked Minseok lightly on the shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Sooyeon—“

“Just Sooyeon, please.”

“Sooyeon, I’m going to get him a change of clothes, but could you maybe convince Kibum to make him something to eat?” Minseok asked,

“Ohhh yeah, give me the hard job. You know how Kibum gets whenever he actually has to work.” she scoffed playfully. “But fine.”

“Why did you lie?” Jongdae asked Minseok as soon as they were inside his tent, the general digging through his clothes and sizing them up to Jongdae, making a face

“About?” came the grunted reply as he flung aside another too big tunic.

“Why did you lie about my name?”

“Ahhhha! This should fit you.” triumphantly, the water tribe general tossed some clothes over to Jongdae. “I lied about your name,” he continued, leaning against the post as the prince changed his clothes, “because although I trust Sooyeon with my life…she and everyone else will immediately see you as a threat once they know who you really are.”

“Why does everyone want to kill me?” Jongdae wondered aloud as he tied the belt around his small waist.

Pity bit sharply through Minseok as he considered what the other had just said. Not even sixteen and the world wanted him dead. 

“Do you have an older brother, Jongdae?” he asked.

Jongdae’s face lit up at that.

“Yeah! I do! Chanyeol! He’s going to be the ruler one day!” his expression dropped a bit “I missed his coming of age ceremony. But he saved my life.”

That made sense. Parents wanting the younger Prince dead to ensure the elder, and probably more desirable, would ascend the throne.

“Alright, kid, come on. Food’s waiting.” was all he said.

 

“Ah! There they are! Look at him, Kibum, and just try to keep complaining. He’s so sweet and got a nice smile….and he’s very polite. A real gentleman.” Sooyeon gushed to an indifferent looking man with a ponytail.

The latter crossed his arms and walked around Jongdae a few times, tapping his wooden spoon on his elbow.

“Alright, you win, he’s pretty cute.” 

“Hey! I’m not cute!” the young prince protested, stomping his foot a bit.

“A real gentleman, huh?” Kibum raised an eyebrow at Sooyeon who rolled her eyes with a huff and turned away.

“Here.” he thrust a bowl of something hot into Jongdae’s hands along with a wooden spoon. “I’m one of the best cooks in the entire Northern Water Tribe, so you should feel honored, kid.”

“If you’re one of their best cooks, why are you all the way out here? Maybe you’re one of their worst and they were just being nice.” Jongdae remarked sweetly before putting another spoonful into his mouth.

“He’s got a point.” Minseok elbowed the other man, who opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it, clearly having nothing to say.

“Shut up and eat your stew.” he mumbled before shuffling off, although he was obviously amused.

“Nice kid.” Sooyeon gave him a wide smile, then furrowed her brows in concern. “How long has it been since you last ate? You practically inhaled that soup.”

“Um…a few days? I kind of lost track.” Jongdae shrugged before returning his attention to devouring his second bowl.

Sooyeon gave Minseok a look and he shrugged.

“Jongsu was running away from his step parents.” was the only explanation he gave.

“Oh.” Sooyeon nodded slowly, face turning serious. A shadow of sadness crossed over her eyes, gone the next instant. “You’re going to let him stay with us, though, right? He seems like a good kid. I mean,” she gave a little laugh, “he just back talked Kibum, I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine.”

“Please?” Jongdae’s small voice made both of them turn and look at him where he sat crosslegged on the ground, still holding the bowl. “I don’t…I mean I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“I don’t know….” a twinkle of mischief came into Minseok’s eyes as he pretended to consider the possibility, “Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a soldier in the Water Tribe? Maybe not—“

“I—I don’t know if I have what it takes.” the younger stared at him from beneath his long lashes, “I’ve never been a soldier.”

“Oh stop it, Minseok! Of course you can stay with us, Jongsu!” Sooyeon gave the general a shove, taking pity on Jongdae’s doleful stare. “He’s just kidding.”

Minseok grinned and straightened, holding out his hand for Jongdae to take.

“Alright kid, I guess you’re in.”

“Thank you!!” taking the hand that was offered, the avatar jumped up, smiling widely.

“Come on Sooyeon. Let’s introduce Jongsu to everyone.”

 

“GONE?! How can he be…GONE!?”

Chanyeol had never seen his mother so enraged in his entire life. Her shriek had awoken the entire palace. Of course, Jongdae had not been in his bed, and was nowhere to be found. A wave of relief washed over him. He had done the right thing. His father and he now stood and watched the queen pace in front of them, dagger still clutched in her hand.

“He’s the Avatar Hyojeon!” his father bit back scornfully, “He’s protected by an entire army of predecessors. Most likely they warned him.” 

She let out another yell of frustration before embedding her dagger in the far wall. No one said anything for what seemed like ages, the only thing that could be heard was her erratic breathing as she slowly calmed down. Finally, she turned to Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol, darling, I’m very sorry for keeping this from you. Perhaps I was wrong to hide it; you may have been able to do it better than I, he was always close to you.” she mused.

Chanyeol felt his blood turn to ice. She would have had him kill Jongdae. He couldn’t do that! It was his brother! Avatar or not!

“I know what you’re thinking.” she interrupted his thoughts by taking his hand and guiding him over to the table. “How could I kill my brother?”

“It does seem a bit…” he wavered slightly, before catching his father’s eyes, “dishonorable.”

“Chanyeol, do you know the legend of the Avatar?” his mother asked sharply, tapping her nails on the table. 

“Yes, he will master the four elements and bring peace to—“

“Peace?” she cut him off with an almost wild laugh, “Peace? Do you REALLY think someone who has the ultimate POWER, unlimited, ultimate POWER over the four elements, will bring PEACE? There will be nothing but DEATH and TERROR.”

“But mother,” Chanyeol objected weakly, “Jongdae really doesn’t—“

“Power corrupts people, darling. Once he gets a taste of the fear as everyone flees from him, worships him like an all powerful god, he will hunger for more and more until it consumes him.” her tone was much gentler now and she brushed the hair off of his forehead. “I’m sorry. I know you cared about him. But Jongdae is doomed. Always has been. From the moment he shot that lightning bolt through the wall. From the moment he became the Avatar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only one who’s age I didn’t change was Minseok and he’s ageless anyway, so it was really just for plot. Also, Jongdae and Chanyeol’s parents aren’t based on anyone but like if you’re feeling extra bitter that Winner’s new lightsick won’t be available in time for the US tour.....


	3. Water Tribe

They had been traveling for about a week now. Minseok was part of the Northern Water Tribe which, unfortunately, was…well….north. Jongdae had been realizing as time went on, that he had never felt this much…was it happiness? in his life. He felt like he belonged. It was no longer him making a constant effort to be cheerful and friendly only to be met with condescending glares of disdain from other nobles or quick, hasty, frightened smiles from the servants. Everyone was so kind and, most of all, acknowledged his existence. He didn’t even need to talk to Jonghyun anymore, he had all the company needed. If he was lonely, he could pester Kibum until the man either caved and gave him some food, or chased him off, in which case he could go bother someone else. There was Hoseok, who was a smiling ball of muscle. Someday Jongdae hoped to be as strong as he was. He’d let Jongdae help him carry things while they were traveling, or when they weren’t he was more than happy to teach Jongdae a few moves. Wheein and Yerim, the twins and also the youngest of the group next to Jongdae, were always fun. They were also the only other two benders in the little band besides Minseok.

Jongdae remembered finding out about Minseok’s water bending. He had been especially whiny that day, complaining first that his feet hurt and then that he was hungry and next that he was tired. It hadn’t been a lie, his feet had hurt, and he was hungry and tired, still being unused to such rigorous travel. Finally, the General had enough and called for a much welcome break, tugging Jongdae off away from the others, despite protests in Jongdae’s favor from Sooyeon. 

Minseok let go of his arm as soon has they reached the bank of the river they were following, which was a little ways from where the group was resting.

“Minseok…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be annoying, really!” he desperately tried to apologize, afraid that he had severely angered the other.

“Jongdae,” Minseok began after a long pause “were you happy at home?” 

He had unnatural piercing blue eyes that contrasted sharply with his dark complexion and black hair, eyes that now seemed to stare straight through his soul.

“I—I was….” Jongdae hesitated. He still didn’t know Minseok very well. But the man was good. He was sure of it. If he wasn’t, Jonghyun would have warned him by now, right? Jonghyun had a very good sense of that sort of thing. “No.” he finally breathed out. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest.

“Why not?”

This question made Jongdae sit back on his heels and consider. Why hadn’t he been happy at home? He could do whatever he wanted, he was well fed, had nice things, constant attention— no. No. He did whatever he wanted, because no one cared what he did. His mother only paid him any attention when she wanted him to do something for her, his father when he wanted to show off his son’s bending skills to the other nobles or soldiers. Chanyeol….had Chanyeol paid attention to him? Jongdae recalled all the times the older had brushed off his displays of affection, left him to play on his own and went inside…

“I was….I was lonely.” he admitted finally.

“I thought so.” the General nodded to himself. “Jongdae, I know you want attention. You never got any before, and now suddenly everyone is willing to give it to you when you ask. But you don’t have to whine and complain to get us to pay attention to you and keep you company. Just ask nicely, alright?”

Jongdae’s lower lip trembled and tears threatened to spill up over his eyes. Minseok held his arms open and the younger scooted closer to be wrapped in his strong embrace.

“We all care about you here.” he whispered softly.

They sat in silence for a while, feeling the soft breeze and listening to the gentle babble of the river. Suddenly Jongdae felt something cold and wet douse him over the head and he yelped and looked up to see Minseok smiling at him mischievously. 

“Hey!” he scrambled away from the elder who drew another thin ribbon of water out of the river and slapped Jongdae on the back of the neck with it.

“Wait, you’re a water bender?” the realization clicked.

“Yes. I’m a master water bender, kid.” 

Jongdae quite nearly asked Minseok to teach him water bending then and there, but decided against it at the last minute. After all, Minseok still merely believed him to be the Fire Nation Prince, not the Avatar. He would tell him one day. Just not now. They had gotten absolutely soaked, before Sooyeon came to find them and they dragged her in too.

“Minseok!! If you weren’t a water bender, this fight would have been over by now!” she hissed, emerging from the cold river.

“Oh really?” he raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yes. I would have WON!” and with that, she tackled him into the water while Jongdae laughed until his sides hurt.

 

Later on that night, once Jongdae was asleep, Sooyeon approached Minseok. The man was staring into the fire, watching the sparks rise upwards towards the stars before burning themselves out in their quest. Everyone else had either gone to bed or gone into their tents, and it was just the two of them.

“What did you talk to Jongsu about?” she asked, quietly coming to sit beside him.

There was silence for a little while as Minseok didn’t directly answer the question. Finally he heaved a sigh.

“I can’t imagine what its like.”

“What what’s like?”

“To have your own parents want to kill you.” 

The girl gasped softly, the shadows playing on her face.

“Is that why he ran away?” Sooyeon hummed, drawing her brows together in thought. “Who would do something like that? Do you know where he’s from?”

Minseok didn’t respond, just continued to stare, before dropping his head.

“Minseok? Are you alright?” she spoke softly and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I’m thinking about Jongsu. Something’s off about that kid.”

“Mmmm. He does feel different, doesn’t he? There’s been such a change in everyone since he came.” the other agreed, standing up and stretching. “Everyone’s been so much happier.”

“I’m worried, though.” Minseok shook his head and looked up at her. 

“Worried?”

“There’s a lot we don’t know, Sooyeon. And not knowing is a dangerous thing.” 

More silence. The fire crackled and the crickets chirped. Sooyeon was slightly frustrated. Minseok was never usually this secretive about things. She suspected he knew more than he was telling her, but he was right. Jongsu’s appearance was mysterious; one might even say fated. He just…showed up one day in the woods. What was someone from the water tribe doing out here? Where had he lived? Was he even water tribe? He could be from the Earth Kingdom. If so, though, he was still quite far from home. And who was he, anyway?

“Well,” the general’s voice broke the calm, startling Sooyeon a bit, “We should get to bed. It’s late, we still have a few more days until we reach Earth Kingdom territory.”

“Aye aye captain.” she blew air through her nose and gave him a mock salute, before turning on her heel and heading towards her tent. 

Minseok watched her leave. He wished he could tell her, but he knew she wouldn’t approve. The Fire Nation had taken everything from her, and he didn’t want her taking out her anger on Jongdae, who was completely innocent. Too innocent. How on earth was he even Fire Nation? They were raised to hate, and kill, and take, and conquer. And yet Jongdae…he was different. He was kind and generous and happy. It was strange; didn’t make sense. He wanted to question the boy about it, but Jongdae seemed understandably reluctant to talk about his family. He had heard rumors about Jongdae’s mother, Hyojeon, how evil she was. Of course, if murdering her son was anything to go by, Minseok guessed they were all true. It didn’t seem possible for the kid to even be related to her.

Groaning in frustration, he stood up and guided the water from a nearby bucket onto the fire, leaving him in darkness.

 

The next morning, he awoke earlier than the others. However, rolling over, he found Jongdae nowhere to be found. Immediately, he threw off his blanket and dashed out of the tent, grabbing his staff on the way out. The river was the first place he thought to look. Jongdae seemed to like the water. Slightly unnatural for someone from the fire nation, but maybe he wanted to forget about home. He did find him rather quickly, but it wasn’t by the river. He was sitting on the top of a large rock, crosslegged, overlooking the river. How he had gotten up there, Minseok had no idea. The surfaces seemed too smooth to climb, but Jongdae was just a boy, and probably much more agile than Minseok, even though, as a bender, Minseok was quite flexible.

“Jongdae…?” he called.

 

Jongdae hadn’t slept well that night. Something was coming, it made him uneasy. Finally, he gave up. Carefully so as not to wake Minseok, he picked his way out of the tent and towards the river. He liked the river, and right now, he wanted to be alone and breathe the fresh air instead of the stuffy air in the tent. The rosy fingers of dawn had just grasped the horizon, preparing to pull the sun slowly up after them. He caught sight of a large rock that hung over the river, a perfect place to watch the sunrise. Placing his hands on the rock, he felt it shift underneath them; he knew it wasn’t him per say moving it. Jongdae didn’t really know how to earth bend very well yet. It was more Jonghyun moving it for him. 

“Thanks Jonghyun.” he mumbled quietly as he made small crevices for him to climb up more easily.

“I really want to tell Minseok.” he admitted, settling down and taking comfort in the solidness of the rock beneath him. Rocks always made him feel closer to the previous Avatar.

He knew a little bit about Jonghyun. That he’d been part of the Earth Kingdom, that he had died about twenty years ago of a fever, and that he’d been very young when he died, about twenty seven. They never really spoke much when Jongdae communicated with him, it was more just feeling the others presence, learning from him.

“I’m afraid I put him in danger. Mother will be after me, I think.” he continued, focusing on turning a few pebbles around in a circle.

“Jongdae?” a voice beneath him called.

Instantly the pebbles dropped, luckily he hadn’t been raising them very high.

“Minseok.” he leaned over slightly to get a glimpse of the older soldier on the ground beneath him. “I’m sorry. I must have worried you. I would have told you, but you were asleep and I really just needed some fresh air.”

“It’s alright Jongdae. Just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Thank you. No one has really ever done that before.” Jongdae gave a sad smile before getting up to climb back down. He largely failed and ended up falling most of the way down, only to be caught by Minseok.

“You alright? How’d you get up there, anyway?”

The boy shrugged. 

“Getting up is easier than getting down, I think.” he sounded wise. 

“We’re going to pack up camp in a bit, we should go bother Kibum for some breakfast.” Minseok smiled and Jongdae returned it.

 

*****************************************

“Chanyeol!” his mother called him into the throne room a few days after Jongdae had disappeared.

“You called for me, mother?” he arranged the most realistic smile he could muster on his face. The woman had begun to revolt him.

“Yes.”

She wasn’t alone. He recognized the familiar form standing next to her. Baekhyun. His cousin younger by one year; and a bitter reminder of everything he wasn’t. Baekhyun was handsome and charismatic, popular, and arguably even a better fire bender. Chanyeol had always had the suspicion his mother preferred Baekhyun over him, despite the younger being her nephew. Baekhyun gave him an angelic smile.

“Hi, Chanyeolie!”

“Did you need me for something?” Chanyeol ignored the other and returned his gaze to his mother.

“Oh! Yes. I have a job for you two.” she beckoned him closer. “A group of soldiers just left to search for your little runaway brother. However, I’m afraid they’ll fail. After all, they’re just lowly expendable soldiers.” the woman sighed, almost annoyed, “Their bending skills are negligible. You two, however, there’s hope for you two.”

“Chanyeolie,” Baekhyun’s grin grew wider and he threw an arm around his cousin’s shoulder. “We get to make a name for ourselves. We get to kill the Avatar!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry Baekhyun stans but he’s a huge asshole in this fic (sorry Baek i love you!) He’s a good character tho!


	4. Ambush

Everyone had gone to bed, and yet Sooyeon found herself still awake, quietly poking at the dying embers of the fire, unable to sleep. 

“What’s wrong, Sooyeon?” a small voice behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin until she realized it was just Jongsu.

“Jongsu, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” she chuckled, returning her gaze to the fire as he came and sat crosslegged beside her.

“I can’t sleep.” was all he said, before the two returned to silence.

“I hate fire.” Sooyeon’s sharp comment made him look up at her questioningly. “It burns, and destroys, and…it reminds me of things I want to forget.” she ended, quietly.

Jongdae didn’t say anything for a while, before he spoke.

“Fire also warms. And brings light. And…I guess….not all burns are bad.” 

Sooyeon huffed lightly and shook her head.

“Easy for you to say.” after glaring darkly at the red glow in front of them, she continued, turning to look at him. “I used to see the world the way you do. Fire was bright and happy; kept us warm and cooked our food. And then….then I lost everything to a Fire Nation raid on my village. I thought my life was over until Minseok found me. I can never see fire without thinking of those monsters now. That’s why I joined the army. I won’t rest until I’ve made each and every one of them pay.”

Sooyeon’s eyes were filled with the iciest venom and Jongdae almost scooted away from her. He prayed that his look didn’t betray his true lineage, for feat she would try to kill him then and there. She must of noticed he looked a bit frightened, because her features visibly relaxed and she pulled him into a hug.

“I’’m sorry for scaring you. I know you’ve had it hard to. Probably from The Fire Nation. But don’t worry, when we get back North, Junmyeon will help us wipe them out. He’s the most powerful water bender this age has ever seen.”

“Really?” Jongdae tilted his head a bit as she pulled back to look at him again.

“Yeah. Some people think he’s the Avatar.” her eyes shone, then a frown came over her glassy face, “But Minseok says that can’t be, and that supposedly the next Avatar will come from the Fire Nation. If that’s true, we’re all doomed. Personally, I think the Avatar saw how evil they were and decided they were unworthy to become the next in line, so the cycle began again in the Water Tribe.”

Jongdae nearly laughed at her proposal. He swore he could hear at least three other people laughing, which didn’t help him contain it. Instead, he faked a yawn and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“So it just skipped right over Air too, huh?” he giggled.

“Well….errr…I hadn’t thought about that.” Sooyeon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Oh! You should go back to bed! Minseok will kill me if he finds out I kept you up this late talking. Come on.” she stood up and extended her hand to him, pulling him up and guiding him back to his tent.

“Goodnight, Jongsu.”

“Night Sooyeon.”

 

**********************

 

“Minseok, you seem uneasy today.” Sooyeon started, quickening her steps a bit to keep pace with the leader.

“To tell you the truth, I am.” the General glanced around for what seemed like the hundredth time, scanning the surrounding the foliage. “I didn’t say anything because I don’t want the others to get worried, but I can’t shake the feeling we’re being followed.”

“You should ask Jongsu. That kid has some sort of sixth sense about him.” the girl shrugged. “I see how you feel. It’s been a bit tense.”

“I don’t like it.” Minseok pressed his mouth into a thin line. “Speaking of Jongsu, where is he?”

The two caught sight of him a few minutes later, holding Hoseok’s large staff and talking to him excitedly about something while the older smiled patiently. He seemed to notice them looking, and turned, giving a wave before handing the staff back to Hoseok and skipping toward them.

“Hi Sooyeon, Minseok!” he chirrped, giving them both a wide smile.

“What were you talking to Hoseok about?” Sooyeon ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Oh, about how to use that thing he’s got. A what do you call it?” he frowned, trying to recall the word.

“A distaff.” Minseok laughed, feeling some of the tension gone already.

“Distaff! Right. Anyway, he said if I wanted, he’d make me a smaller one, since I can barely lift the one he’s got.” the boy continued, “I want to learn how to fight with it! I mean, I know how to fight…” he caught sight of Minseok’s warning glance and quickly changed his sentence to “…a little because of my brother, but nothing really to defend myself against an attack.”

“Well, I’m sure Hoseok would be happy to teach you, if only you—“ Sooyeon began, but Minseok held up his hand and halted abruptly, motioning for Jongdae to be quiet.

“What is it?” the young prince whispered after a minute of standing stock still.

“Do you hear that?” the general asked, turning to Sooyeon.

“Hear what?” she tilted her head, listening intently.

“Exactly.” 

That was when they noticed. The birds had stopped chirping. The forest was dead silent, the wind had died down, and the only sound was the distant rush of the river they had been following.

Minseok made a few signals at Hoseok, who immediately understood and passed the message down. The little band instantly grouped up into a defensive circle, Sooyeon grabbing Jongdae and shoving him behind her, despite his silent protesting.

They waited for what seemed like ages, Minseok slowly unscrewing his flask filled with bending water, the twins doing the same. Suddenly, the bushes around them went up in flames and an ambush of fire nation soldiers burst through with cries.

“Imperial Fire Benders?” Kibum turned to Minseok in confusion. “Why would they be here….?”

He didn’t have time to finish as one hurled a burning fireball at him and he was forced to roll to the side.   
Minseok flung a stream of water at the one who had fired, dousing his flame. He knew it was of little use, however, since the only benders in the group were himself and the rather inexperienced twins, while the entire attacking force were benders. If he didn’t think fast, they would all be burnt to a crisp.   
It seemed too late for even that now, the fire benders creating a wall of flame and slowly closing in as Minseok and his group were forced closer and closer together. The heat from the flames was just beginning to be felt, the men’s expressions unreadable underneath their iron helmets and Sooyeon’s hand felt for Minseok’s, grasping it tightly.

“WAIT!” someone yelled, and the soldiers instantly stopped advancing, the leader taking off his headgear to reveal a man with an ugly scar down the center of his face.

“It’s over, your highness.” he grinned as Jongdae wiggled his way out from the center, no one stopping to grab him as the realization hit all of them. 

“Leave my friends alone!” Jongdae continued, still advancing towards the man, who’s smile widened with each step he took. 

The leader laughed, a cruel, merciless laugh. 

“Kill him. Then kill the rest of them.” he ordered, slamming his visor down again, and producing a white hot ball of flame.

“No.” was Jongdae’s only reply as he closed his eyes.

“Jongsu!!” Sooyeon screamed, before stopping dead in her tracks as Jongdae opened his eyes again. They were no longer the deep brown she was accustomed to, but a glowing white.

“You can tell mother I won’t be coming home.” he spoke again, with a voice that was only partially his, partially the five other people who had come before him.

The wind began to pick up, whipping to a ferocious intensity in a circle around the water benders and extinguishing the fires as fast as the attackers could produce them. Jongdae took a step forward, stomping his foot and bringing it down with enough force to send them all flying backwards, before pulling the water straight from Minseok and the twins’ hands and forming it into a thin line, rushing forward and and knocking the group even further away as he circled the group of water benders protectively. 

It was a weird sensation, conflicting commands within him. Jiyong and Yifan were violent, filling him with the desire to kill these evil men, bringing them to justice. But Hayi and Jonghyun tempered their anger with calm control, holding back their powers and tempering them with a softer hand. It was exhausting, feeling people more powerful than him channeling their power through him. Jongdae felt his strength sapping, so he wrapped a tendril of water around the leader’s foot before flinging him against a tree, knocking him unconscious….or dead…hopefully unconscious. The others already lay about, out cold as the voices in his head began to die down, and finally disappear completely. He suddenly felt faint, things began to spin and blur, everyone’s voices sounded so far away. The ground seemed a lot closer, before he realized that was because it was closer. He stumbled and fell over, letting the calm of the darkness consume him.

No sooner had he fallen down, Sooyeon drew her knife and rushed at him, screaming. She would have stabbed him to death right then in her rage, but Minseok stepped calmly in front of him and caught her raised arm, stopping the knife from falling.

“Sooyeon.” 

That was it. That was all he said. She tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he was far stronger.

“He’s one of them! They’re murderers!” she shrieked.

“He’s the Avatar, Sooyeon. I thought you had faith in the Avatar. Or did you only ever really have faith in yourself?” he shook his head and dropped her arm, turning away, leaving her standing there, still trembling.

He knelt down next to Jongdae, pulling him into his arms gently.

“Jongdae. Jongdae, are you alright?”

“Huh? Wh-what happened…?” Jongdae mumbled, blinking sleepily. “Minseok.”

“Jongdae, look at me, are you hurt?”

The fire nation prince shook his head and closed his eyes again.

“Everyone knows now, don’t they.” his voice had a hint of sadness to it. 

Minseok nodded, although Jongdae couldn’t see him.

“I’m sorry for lying to everyone….lying to you…I just…I wanted to fit in.” he opened his eyes again and looked up at Minseok, “For once in my life, I wasn’t a stranger. I’ll go now, if that’s what they all want.” 

“No. It doesn’t matter what they want. I’m their Commander, and you’re staying here. I can’t let you wander around alone, especially not with your mother looking for you.” the older assured emphatically, helping Jongdae sit up. 

“Please don’t force them.” Jongdae begged, “I want everyone to be happy, I only want peace, not war and death. I’ve seen far too much of that. I know I get a bit carried away as the Avatar, Yifan and Jiyong are always so violent, but Jonghyun is the strongest and he’s so gentle, I’m going to be an Avatar like him.”

“Jonghyun united the entire Earth Kingdom at a time when there were several warring factions, and he didn’t do it by conquering. We’ll travel through the Earth Kingdom, you should ask them to tell you the stories, if you don’t already know them.” Minseok pulled Jongdae to his feet and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“I want to do the same. I want to show my people that war is not the only way. I’m not strong enough, though.” Jongdae sighed, voice cracking a bit.

“Maybe not now. But someday, you will be, I’m sure of it.”

Everyone parted silently as Minseok walked back towards the group. Jongdae briefly caught Sooyeon’s eye where she still knelt in the dirt, knife fallen beside her. She looked away quickly, not being able to hold his gaze, the penetrating judgement of ancient beings reflected through his eyes into hers. 

No one spoke for a long time, until finally, Yerim shyly approached the two and bowed slightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Avatar Jongdae.” 

Jongdae smiled slightly as he started to cry, tears rolling down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought I would have to admit bald Kris into my own cannon yeesh. Anyway, he’s an air bender, GD is a firebender and Lee Hi is a water bender.


	5. Expedition

Baekhyun laughed at something beside Chanyeol, slinging his arm over the taller and nearly doubling over in amusement. His laugh, although genuine, was cold and cruel, like his mother’s. Chanyeol had begun to wonder if Baekhyun wasn’t more like his mother than he was. All Baekhyun talked about was killing the Avatar.

“When I—er we kill the Avatar, Yeolie, imagine. They’ll definitely give us a reward beyond our wildest dreams.” there was a flare in his eyes like flames licking out of control whenever he spoke like this. “What are you going to ask for as a reward?” he turned suddenly on Chanyeol.

“Baek, you speak as if we’ve already killed him. He’s not going to be easy. Theres a chance we won’t succeed.” he frowned. The younger scoffed.

“Are you doubting me?”

“No. But you’ve never seen Jongdae.” Chanyeol shook his head.

“Oh? I’ve heard about how powerful he is. Is it true he can bend lighting? No one has been able to do that for a over a hundred and fifty years.” Instead of being deterred by the mention of Jongdae’s power, it just seemed to spur Baekhyun on even more. Chanyeol was disgusted as he nodded in reply.

“That must be really something. He was always a weird kid. Way too nice. I mean, who even talks to servants? Pathetic.” he laughed again and Chanyeol just felt his blood boil.

Turning, he punched Baekhyun squarely in the face, the younger stumbling backwards with the force, holding his nose and he glared up at the taller man.

“He may be the Avatar, but he’s still my brother. I think I’ve proven my loyalty enough by even being willing to kill him, I won’t put up with you talking about him like that.” he growled.  
“Fine, your majesty, have it your way. But I won’t forget this!” Baekhyun seethed as he stormed off, blood oozing between his fingers.

Chanyeol watched him go, a chill running up his spine as he considered what he had just done. It was true, is mother loved Baekhyun more than she loved him, and if she was so willing to kill Jongdae, who had perhaps found the one soft spot left in her cold heart, she would be more than happy to help Baekhyun exact his revenge. His mind wandered to the rumors, whispers he’d heard. His mother and Baekhyun’s mother had been sisters who married two brothers, his father and Baekhyun’s father. Being older, Chanyeol’s father had been heir to the throne, which was why, people said, his mother had married him, and not for love. 

“Your majesty.” a footman interrupted his thoughts. 

“Yes?”

“I apologize for interrupting, but we have a lead on the Avatar. Our scouts we sent out? They’ve returned.”

By the time Chanyeol arrived, led by the soldier, Baekhyun was already there speaking with the lead guard who immediately turned to Chanyeol and bowed once he caught sight of him.

“My Lord, we were attacked. The Avatar is with a band of water benders, traveling along the river. They’re headed towards the Earth Kingdom. I advise to catch up with them before they cross the boarders, as war with the Earth Kingdom would not be advisable right now, with the Avatar and all.”

Chanyeol nodded curtly. He knew this man, Hongbae. He was old, and seasoned and knew more than he did, so he listened to his advice. They would press onward faster, and hopefully catch up with the Avatar before he reached the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom. He only hoped they wouldn’t be too late. He had no idea what Jongdae was and wasn’t a master of, although he was certainly a master of fire. His father had repeated countless times that not even he could defeat him, and his father was the most powerful fire bender he knew; he’d seen him kill countless men.

“We head East at dawn. Follow the river. They should reach Earth Kingdom borders within a week. We must intercept them before then.” Chanyeol ordered, and the men nodded their understanding before beginning to pitch the tents for the night.

He was sitting cross-legged in his tent, facing the wall and turning his dagger over and over again in his hand. A memory came to him, the glint of the red ruby eye of his mother’s dagger sticking out of Jongdae’s chest. Red like the blood of his brother he was all too willing to spill. The dagger was no longer his mother’s, but his, and the dagger no longer a dagger, but a knife of flame, burning through the younger. He closed his eyes to try and block out the image, when he became aware of someone else entering. Turning quickly, he came face to face with the flaming eyes of his cousin.

“Yeolie.” Baekhyun said matter of factly, plopping himself down on the cushions. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I know it must be terribly hard for you to know you must kill your own brother. I should have been more understanding, I know you didn’t mean what you said.” his voice dripped with sickly sweetness and the smile of false sympathy on his face was unnerving. “But Yeolie, think of how hard it must be for your mother! She had to make the noble sacrifice of giving up her own son for the good of the Fire Nation! Don’t you want to be like her?”

No, Chanyeol did not want to be like his mother, but what Baekhyun said was true. For all her cruelty, he honestly believed that his mother had loved Jongdae with whatever leftover emotion she was capable of, and having that last source of affection ripped away from her? Suddenly, he felt pathetic. He should be better than this! It was for the good of the people, he had to kill Jongdae, and rid the Fire Nation of the Avatar. He could be reborn again into some new one…what was it….Air? If he was, no matter, they would just kill all of them. But as it was, Jongdae must be stopped before he became too powerful. It was like his mother had said, he recalled the words ringing sharply in his ears:

 

Power corrupts people, darling. Once he gets a taste of the fear as everyone flees from him, worships him like an all powerful god, he will hunger for more and more until it consumes him.

He sighed, shoulder dropping.

“I guess you’re right, Baek. I’m sorry about your nose. I just…I’m not as great as my mother, I can’t accept so easily that I must kill my brother.” he hung his head, missing Baekhyun’s grin of glee.

“It’s alright, Chaneyol, I’m sure when the time comes, you’ll make the fire nation proud!” he placed a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder encouragingly, and the elder prince could feel the heat waves of excitement coursing through his cousin’s veins. He couldn’t find it in himself to be reassured, he could never quite be free of that awful nagging in the back of his mind. If only he could just be rid of it like Baekhyun. Rid of it.

 

 

Jongdae was sitting on the bank of the river, listening to the water run gently. It was peaceful, calm. He had told Minseok and the others he needed to be alone right now. The general had said he understood, and told him to be back by dark. The others just gave him looks and polite smiles, but he felt the distance that had grown between them and it hurt. He blinked back a few tears, feeling alone again. 

“I’ve told you before, Yifan, I don’t want him killing people!” Jonghyun’s voice sounded in his head and he groaned in exasperation. 

“Jonghyun, those men were evil. They needed to be brought to justice! If there’s anything I know about Firebenders, its that they’re strong willed and—“

“Watch it!” a third annoyed voice that he recognized as Jiyong joined in and Jongdae held his head.

“He’s a kid! He’s too young to have blood on his hands!” Jonghyun continued.

“Well he’s going to have to kill at some point if he’s going to restore any sort of order in the Fire Nation.” Yifan grumbled.

At this point, Jongdae had had enough of his past selves arguing with each other, it was giving him a terrible headache.

“SHUT UP!!” he screamed miserably. “Just shut up! I want some peace and quiet for two seconds, is that too much to ask?!!” 

A hand on his shoulder startled him, and the voices died away as he was brought back to reality.

“Jongdae,” Minseok’s voice was gentle, “I’m sorry to bother you, but you’re nearly causing an earthquake.”

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry! I’m sorry…I’m sorry!” his voice died down to a whisper as it cracked and he started to cry.

“It’s alright.” Minseok soothed, letting him cry into his shoulder, holding him in his arms.

They sat like that for a while, Minseok calming Jongdae down while the other cried in frustration and confusion and loneliness. He wanted to punch the others for treating him like this, leaving him to cry alone. It was an unfair punishment for such a crucial role; save the world yet get rejected. He suspected most of it had to do with Jongdae’s orgins as a member of the generally hated Fire Nation. Jonghyun was loved, he remembered people talking about the man all the time. He had even hoped to meet him one day, but then he had died an untimely death. But, he suddenly realized, he had met him. Jonghyun’s other self was right here, crying in his arms. 

“Were those your past selves you were talking with?” Minseok asked after Jongdae had stopped crying.

Jongdae nodded, wiping away the tears with the rich fabric of his sleeve.

“They’re so annoying, they’re always arguing. Yifan wants me to kill, Jonghyun refuses to let him. They don’t mean any harm but it gets so tiring sometimes. It always happens when I get emotional.” 

“Well, that makes sense. You know, Jongdae, I always wanted to meet Avatar Jonghyun. I always heard stories about all he was able to do. He started when he was just fifteen.” Minseok spoke softly.

“I’m fifteen!” Jongdae mumbled sadly, “And I haven’t done anything! Joghyun was a master of everything by that time! I’m just a master of fire and I can bend earth sometimes. This is horrible, there’s a war coming and I have to stop it, and yet I can’t do anything! The people won’t listen to me, not with my mother and my father the firelord still alive. But I can’t kill them, Minseok. I can’t. I can’t kill anyone.” he was nearly in tears again by this time.

“Jongdae, it’s alright. Every Avatar is unique. Jonghyun doesn’t expect you to be like him, he just expects you to be a good person. And you already are that, Jongdae. We’ll be in the Earth Kingdom soon, then you can learn from a Master there. I’m sure they’ll be happy to train the successor of Avatar Jonghyun. Now, let’s move, its nearly dawn and the Fire Nation will be back. The sooner we’re out of here, the better.” he stood up, tugging Jongdae with him.

The Fire Nation prince hid behind the General as they walked back into camp. He still didn’t like everyone’s silent stares, gazes mingled with either disgust or disappointment. They were all kind to him, though Sooyeon refused to even speak to him anymore, but it was clear to him that it was external courtesy, and done for who he once was, not for who he was now. He sighed and hung his head, following Minseok as he gave orders and the group packed up camp.

I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier, Jonghyun. I only want to be like you, and everyone hates me because I’m Fire Nation. he apologized to his past self. Jonghyun didn’t answer, but Jongdae was sure he heard.

 

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as they headed out, something he couldn’t seem to shake. At first he had tried to brush it off as just a feeling, but the more the day progressed, the more he knew it was true. He would have to face his brother before he entered the Earth Kingdom, and he was dreading every second of it. Mainly because he knew that a fight with his brother at this point would end in one of two things: either he would die, or Chanyeol would, not by Jongdae, but by their mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little bit short sorry! It feels so much longer when you’re writing it tbh. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	6. Encounter

The longer he spent around Baekhyun, the more Chanyeol was truly horrified by him. He had never understood the meaning behind the expression bloodthirsty until he encountered his cousin. The closer they got to Jongdae, the more Baekhyun practically foamed at the mouth thinking about killing him. It was all he ever talked about anymore, yet Chanyeol felt dread mounting in his chest with each step he took. He didn’t sleep well anymore, he was plagued with nightmares of Jongdae, the few happy memories turning over and over again in his head, his brother’s smile and laugh, his kind words…Jongdae was always so kind. Chanyeol knew Jongdae wouldn’t kill him, but perhaps the other Avatars would. After all, Avatar Jiyong would hardly stand for someone like Chanyeol to just kill him like that. Chanyeol had often gazed up at his golden statue in the temple, wondering what he had been like. Although the Avatar was no longer welcome, Jiyong himself was still deified as the one who brought glory to the Fire Nation. Had Jongdae ever talked to Jiyong? 

“Prince Chanyeol?” a voice near his ear startled him and he nearly jumped.

“I thought I made it clear I wasn’t to be bothered!” he snapped at the intruder.

“Apologies, but we’ve captured one of the Water Tribe spies.” the soldier stammered out.

“Bring me to them.” Chanyeol ordered. This was good news.

 

**********************

 

“General Minseok? I can’t find Yerim anywhere!” Wheein was almost in tears as she ran up to him as he sat on a rock, trying to convince Jongdae to try a questionable looking nut. “Ah, hello Avatar Jongdae.” she stopped when she caught sight of him, bowing respectfully.

“You don’t have to do that. I mean, I’m just a kid, like you.” 

“Hey, I’m a teenager! I’m almost eighteen!”

“Sorry.” Jongdae clenched his hand around the nut and burnt it to cinders in an instant to show Minseok exactly what he thought of it, but didn’t miss the way Wheein cringed when she saw the fire.

“When did you see her last?” Minseok ignored Jongdae’s rebellious attitude and immediately turned his full attention to the situation.

“No one has seen her since last night, and she wasn’t in the tent this morning! General, I think something terrible happened to her!” 

“Calm down Wheein, we’ll look for her.”

“I’ll help.” Jongdae immediately jumped to his feet. “The Fire Nation is probably involved in this, and its me they want.”

“Jongdae, we can’t let them get you, they’ll kill you! Haven’t you heard what that Fire Nation thug said? Your mother wants you dead!” Minseok immediately shook his head, putting a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder.

“So I’ll be reborn. The Fire Nation can kill me, but they can’t kill the Avatar! They can’t win this. Besides, we can handle them.” Jongdae protested, pushing Minseok’s hand off.

Minseok knew he did not have the time or the energy to fight Jongdae on this, and he suspected it wouldn’t be much use anyway. Besides, Jongdae was right, there was no way he could handle multiple advanced Fire Benders, especially since he doubted Jongdae’s mother would make the same mistake twice by sending less experienced benders. 

“Alright, lets go.” Minseok armed himself and brought along his flask of bending water.

There were footprints in the camp made by unfamiliar shoes, and instantly Minseok knew what had happened. But before he could speak, Jongdae voiced his thoughts.

“They took her. They took her because of me.”

“Jongdae, we don’t know that, it’s not your fault,” Minseok started, but Jongdae shook his head.

“No, it is. I shouldn’t have stayed with you all. She’s bait. They know I’ll come. I should have continued on alone, now I’ve just endangered all of you.” he balled his hands into fists and stomped his foot. 

He huffed and took off in the direction of the tracks, ignoring the fact that Minseok was calling after him that it was a trap. Of course it was a trap! He didn’t care. He was going to stop them, even if he had to kill every last one. He ignored Jonghyun’s disapproval as he ran.

****************************

“The Avatar will kill you.” Yerim snapped at Chanyeol, who circled her grinning.

“Oh, I don’t think he will. After all,” he chuckled, “he’s my brother. He doesn’t have it in him to kill me. I, however, do.”

He heard faint clapping from Baekhyun, who was practically dancing with excitement, fire already flickering around his fingertips in anticipation. 

“You’re a horrible man! I hope Avatar Jongdae kicks your ass!” Yerim shouted at him, and Chanyeol hissed in anger, blowing sparks into her face, making her whimper in pain.

“I hope you enjoy watching me burn him until he’s nothing more than a pile of ash!” he snarled back at her, his temper getting the better of him. “And then I’ll light this tree on fire and leave you to die!”

“Hey!” someone yelled, making all of them turn around in surprise.

“Well well well, if it isn’t Jongdae. Its been a while, little brother.” Chanyeol approached him, and Jongdae was shocked at how much his brother had changed. This was not the older brother who had helped him escape his mother’s plot to kill him in his sleep.

“You could have just taken me, Yeol, if you were that intent on picking a fight. Stop hurting other people to get to me.” 

Chanyeol stopped mere inches away from Jongdae and leaned forward to bring his face down to Jongdae’s height.

“You’ve got a lot of guts, Dae, you always have, I’ll give you that. But unfortunately, mother wants you dead,” he paused, “and so do I.”

Jongdae’s confidence wavered for a moment. He had thought—he had hoped—that Chanyeol was only acting in the interests of his mother, and not of his own will. Part of him still wanted to believe that, even now, but after hearing it from his own lips, how could he? His face fell and he sighed sadly.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Chanyeolie.” 

“It’s for the good of the Fire Nation. Once you master the four elements, there’s no telling what you’ll do. So much power, you’ll enslave us all, and I’m going to stop you.”

And with that, Chanyeol flipped away and kicked a ball of flame at Jongdae, who easily deflected it.

“Are you not going to even fight back? Come on, Jongdae, don’t be so damn righteous all the time!” he snarled as his brother calmly diffused blast after blast with minimal effort.

Suddenly, a powerful flame knocked Jongdae off his feet and forced him backwards as he rolled over in the dirt. Baekhyun stood over him, grinning from ear to ear, flames licking his eyes. His power was unique in that his flames were white as opposed to the normal yellow.

“Stop going so easy on him, Chanyeol.” he cackled, glaring at the other.

“Come on, Avatar.” he kicked Jongdae hard in the stomach, “Get up. Let’s fight. Your brother tells me how amazing you are.”

“Owww…” Jongdae grumbled, rolling over slowly, too slowly for Baekhyun apparently, who hurled two more fireballs at him in rapid succession. 

“Get. UP!” he shrieked. 

Jongdae managed to get to his feet, but Baekhyun was quick, forcing him backwards as he narrowly avoided getting burned several times. It didn’t help that Chanyeol joined, and he was barely holding back their combined attacks. 

Are you just going to let him push you around like that? Yifan’s voice echoed in his mind, and Jongdae felt himself slowly loosing control.

Stop that Yifan, he’s my brother, I don’t want to kill him! he replied mentally in protest.

Let go, Jongdae, We’ll help you, but you have to open your mind. Jonghyun’s voice came this time, and Jongdae sighed. 

Fine, but don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Jongdae gave in as power surged through his body, the united spirits of the Avatars all combining in one, making his eyes glow.

Suddenly, Chanyeol’s eyes widened a second before a huge shockwave of flame flung them both backwards and the wind picked up around Jongdae, lifting him off the ground. Tendrils of lighting began to curl around his finger tips, encircling his arms as he turned his white eyes to the two fire benders whose flames were powerless against the air deflecting it. He breathed in, lifting up both of his hands before stretching one out before him, pulling the current of blue lighting through him and directing it towards the fleeing fire benders. The other soldiers had been blown backwards by the wall of fire and were now laying on the ground, several yards off, Yerim’s rope had been burned away although she herself was unharmed and her, Minseok, and Wheein stood together in awe watching the lightning ignite some of the most powerful fire they had ever seen, hurling Chanyeol and Baekhyun through the air, only to douse the flames with a ribbon of water drawn from the river.

“He really is the Avatar!” the two girls gasped, as Minseok stared.  
He nearly swore those eyes didn’t belong to Jongdae but to someone else as they flashed in anger at the fire nation camp. The wind around him picked up speed so that they had to hold onto the trees to keep from getting blown away along with the rest of the tents and supplies. Nearly unconscious Baekhyun and Chanyeol were pushed all the way into the river.

“Jongdae! Stop! You’ll kill them!!” Minseok yelled.

The eyes turned back to him, and for a moment, he was afraid, but slowly, Jongdae descended, lightly falling to the ground as the white glow faded. 

“Jongdae!” he hurried forwards, catching him before his face hit the dirt.

“Did I…kill…anyone…?” he asked weakly, eyelids fluttering a bit with exhaustion.

“No. No Dae. You didn’t.” he shook his head, smiling.

“Thank you for saving me, Avatar!” Yerim was nearly bursting with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see The Avatar use his powers, you were amazing!! Now we finally can beat the Fire Nation! Uhhhhh…no offense.” she ended sheepishly.

Jongdae gave her a faint but happy look.

“I’m…glad…” he closed his eyes. “Thank you, Jiyong.”

 

“You should have seen it, Sooyeon! It was amazing! His eyes got all glowy like this, and then he rose up into the air and there was a ton of wind and then he shot lighting at them!” Yerim was excitedly describing the events to Sooyeon complete with vivid hand gestures.

“Yeah. Must have been great.” Sooyeon deadpanned before standing up and walking off. Yerim rolled her eyes. 

“Lame-o.” she muttered under her breath before skipping off to find someone else to regale with the tale of Jongdae’s powers.  
“Jongdae, are you feeling alright?” Minseok asked the prince, who was laying on some blankets in the General’s tent.

“Yeah. I’m okay. I always get so exhausted when I go into the Avatar state. I try not to, but—“ Jongdae’s eyes were half closed.

“You should rest before we continue. We’re almost to the Earth Kingdom border. Reigning Prince Kyungsoo will be happy to see us.” Minseok smiled kindly before patting Jongdae’s head and leaving.

Jongdae made him miss his family so much, he couldn’t wait to get back to them. 

“Only a few more weeks, and then we’ll be home.” he said to himself.

 

Jongdae. Jongdae, are you awake? Jonghyun was calling him and Jongdae groaned and rolled over.

Yeah? What is it? 

We need to talk. Jonghyun continued and the prince sighed grumpily, but sat up nonetheless, indicating he was listening.

Suddenly he felt strange, as if he was floating. He turned around and nearly yelped when he saw himself sitting peacefully in the tent, eyes glowing.

“Yah!” he poked himself a few times. “That’s my body!”

“Jongdae!” a voice behind him startled him suddenly and he turned to see Jonghyun standing there.

“Hi Avatar Jonghyun!” Jongdae got really excited at seeing the young man before him. He had never actually seen Jonghyun, only heard his voice. The previous Avatar was taller than him, jet black hair, full lips and high cheekbones.

“Hello Jongdae. It’s good to see you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” a hand was outstretched to him and Jongdae took it as they walked.

“I must explain to you about the Avatar state. When you go into it, you are wielding the power of all past incarnations, and they are channelling all of their knowledge through you. You are both at your most powerful and your most vulnerable, for if you are killed in the Avatar State, the cycle will be broken.”

“Oh. Oops. I uh, I probably shouldn’t go into it very often then, should I?” Jongdae rubbed the back of his neck.

“It is better if you don’t, yes. But once you master the elements, you will not need to. But first, you must master yourself. I understand things are difficult for you, Jongdae, but you must learn to control yourself more. Your friends will help you, your teachers will help you. And remember, you are never alone. You have your animal guide.” Jonghyun placed both hands on Jongdae’s shoulders and smiled kindly at him.

“Animal guide? What’s that?” the younger stared up at himself, perplexed.

“It was too dangerous to come to you when you still lived in the fire nation, Chen knew that. He’ll find you. Don’t worry.”

“Chen? What sort of animal is he?” Jongdae was excited. He had never had a pet before, let alone a magical one.

“You’ll see.” Jonghyun smiled again before Jongdae felt his presence start to fade. “Remember, Jongdae, I am always with you.”

“I get an animal guide!” Jongdae whispered happily to himself as he was tugged back into his body, and promptly fell asleep. They would cross into the earth kingdom tomorrow and he was quite excited. Finally he could see Jonghyun’s people, and maybe help their connection.

 

“So, I heard the kid put on quite a show.” Sooyeon stood a ways off from Minseok who was taking the first watch and had settled down by the fire.

“If you would just swallow your pride for two seconds,” he shrugged without looking up, “you might realize you were wrong about him.”  
There was silence, and Minseok thought she had left in a huff until her voice came again.

“Maybe I was.” she sounded small, and Minseok felt bad for her. Sooyeon had seen the fire nation do terrible things, it wasn’t surprising she was resentful towards Jongdae.

“I’m glad you’ve changed your mind.” was all he said.

More silence.

“Minseok, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been thinking.” the dark haired girl began again, tentatively. 

“Yes?” he looked up from where he was poking the fire, the embers reminding him of Jongdae’s glowing eyes.

“The fire nation will not stop until Jongdae is dead.”

“I’m not leaving him, Sooyeon, if that’s what you’re after.” he snapped crossly, returning to his previous position.

“No. That’s not what I’m suggesting, if you’d just let me finish, General” she narrowed her eyes at him and continued, “ It’s very risky to travel with him now. Perhaps it would be better if you and him went on alone. I’ll lead the others back to the North.”

Minseok was shocked. Never had he thought the person he trusted the most would suggest such shocking thing. He was hurt at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Sooyeon was right. He wouldn’t abandon Jongdae, but it would be best if it were just the two of him, lead the Fire Nation away from the rest of his troops. He mulled it over.

“I’ll think about your proposal Sooyeon. In the morning I’ll make my decision. Will there be anything else?”

Sooyeon was slightly taken aback by Minseok’s suddenly harsh tone, but she figured he was just upset. After all, she had been very bold, and the two of them were sort of close. He may have taken it a bit personally, although she held nothing against him. The truth was that she wanted to get as far away from Jongdae as possible. Every time she looked at him in those awful red silks, she was reminded of pain and suffering, despite his smiling face and cheerful personality. She wished the Avatar were Joonmyeon with his calm eyes that reflected the moon itself, not this child with electric eyes that flashed like the lightning he wielded; judging her with his kindness that defied her expectations of his people.

“I asked if that would be all.” Minseok was clearly annoyed, and she shook her head vigorously and withdrew.

Once she was gone, Minseok put his head in his hands. He had sworn ever since he was young that he would always be loyal to the Avatar, no matter what. And if it meant doing this, then dammit he would. He knew Sooyeon had always thought the cycle had begun again in the water tribe, with Joonmyeon, but he had known, he had just known that the Avatar didn’t discriminate. Jongdae was good and that was all that mattered. He would do this, Jongdae would want him to agree, would rather he went alone even, but Minseok was not about to let him do that. He was completely resolved by the time Kibum came out to replace him.

“I’ll stay with you, Jongdae,” he told the sleeping form as he settled down in his tent. “No matter what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got kinda emotional writing this tbh.


	7. Earth Kingdom

The next day, Minseok broke the news to the rest of the band, and was met with mixed reactions. The twins and Hoseok were upset, Kibum and most of the others were indifferent, and Sooyeon did a poor job of hiding her relief. Jongdae stood there the whole time, head hung, refusing to look anyone in the eye. He had been right, they didn’t want him.

“Minseok, you don’t have to stay with me.” he tugged gently on the elder’s sleeve. “I can make it on my own.”

“Jongdae, don’t be ridiculous, I am not leaving you. I don’t mind you, even if all of you can’t see past your own bigotry.” he glared at his fellow soldiers. He didn’t hold it against them necessarily, but he was disgusted with them at the moment, especially since his heart broke every time he looked into Jongdae’s sad eyes.

“Goodbye Jongdae. Thank you for saving me. I don’t want you gone, and I hope you save the world.” Yerim gave him a hug.

“Thanks for believing in me.” Jongdae smiled, but it never reached his eyes.

“It’s better this way.” he sighed, watching the little band disappear into the trees. “I’m only a danger and an inconvenience.”

“Jongdae. You? You’re going to save us.” Minseok told him firmly, giving his shoulder a tight squeeze. “Now. Let’s go. Prince Kyungsoo is going to be so thrilled to meet you.”

As they walked, Minseok told Jongdae stories about the Northern Water Tribe city, a city of made of solid ice, magnificently hand crafted structures with intricate designs. Jongdae desperately wanted to see it. Jongdae told Minseok a bit about his life as well, as much as he was comfortable with, and Minseok never pushed him to tell more. He told the older about Chanyeol, his mother, and when he first heard Jonghyun talk to him. Minseok was absolutely horrified at the life Jongdae had to live. Surrounded by people who consistently flattered and fawned over him to his face yet plotted his murder behind his back. He realized how truly alone Jongdae felt in the world, his family, who he had thought truly cared about him, wanted nothing more than to kill him and revel in the glory. 

“We’re about to cross into the Earth Kingdom.” Minseok announced, after they disembarked the boat they had been traveling on. “Welcome the domain of Prince Kyungsoo. Jonghyun formerly ruled here.” Jongdae had been well disguised, since there were wanted posters for him everywhere, searching for the last prince, and the avatar.

“It’s very….rocky?” Jongdae offered with a nervous smile. “They’re going to hate me.” he mumbled.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re the Avatar! I’m sure they’ll give you a royal welcome. After all, Avatar Jonghyun was the pride of Earth Kingdom. They are one because of him. Look!” Minseok pointed to a statue of Jongdae, painted in bright colors, standing in the middle of the marketplace. Jongdae looked up at his past self and smiled. It made him feel a little more at ease.

“General Minseok!” one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers caught sight of him and saluted. “It is good to see you! I trust your mission was successful?”

“Oh, very.” Minseo assured him, clapping the other warmly.

“And who is this?” the man noticed Jongdae who was examining a small rodent on the ground.

“Dongbae, this is the Avatar, Jongdae!” 

Jongdae whirled around at that, grinning sheepishly for being rather impolite. The soldier’s face grew white once he saw Jongdae’s face.

“Minseok! Do you know who that is?! That’s the Firelord’s son, Jongdae! The Prince of the Fire Nation! Are you crazy? Bringing him here?! I’ve heard rumors about him, they say he can bend lightning! No one has been able to do that in—“

“Yeah yeah, one hundred and fifty years.” Jongdae rolled his eyes sourly.

Dongbae clapped his hands together to send a boulder flying at Jongdae, who easily burnt it to ash. The smoke parted and Dongbae stared into the eyes of Jonghyun.

“After all these years, and you’re going to throw a boulder at me? Disappointing, Dongbae.”

The apparition was gone once he blinked, but it left him shaken.

“I—I will take you to Prince Kyungsoo. I am sure he will want to see you.” he looked pointedly at Jongdae, who shrugged, unaware of what had taken place.

The whole way the soldier, Dongbae, kept casting backwards glances at Jongdae, who was paying him no attention. He took in the sand and the green shrubbery and the bustling streets. It was nothing like the fire nation capitol, which was rich but harsh and uninviting.

“Right this way.”

This is where Jonghyun lived? The towering jade pillars and golden tapestries took Jongdae’s breath away as Dongbae led them down the long hallway to the throne room. The paintings on the walls told the stories of the great Earth Kingdom rulers, Jonghyun’s freshly carved among them.

Prince Kyungsoo was sitting on his throne thoughtfully. He had heard rumors, rumors that troubled him. The Avatar had been found….in the Fire Nation. He had heard how powerful the mere boy was already. It troubled him greatly.

“Your majesty, visitors.” a soldier bowed and Kyungsoo inclined his head, indicating he had heard.

“Show them in.”

The minute the man stepped through the door, a glimmer of recognition entered his eyes and he gave a nod.

“General Minseok. Its good to see you again. I had hoped for your safe return.” 

“Your majesty.”

Jongdae peered out at the Earth Kingdom Prince from behind Minseok. His hair was shorter than normal for an earth kingdom ruler, and he couldn’t be more than twenty four. But what Jongdae couldn’t tear himself away from was the man’s eyes. They seemed familiar, but they were sad and cold, not cruel, but emotionless. So familiar….

He was dragged out of his thoughts by Minseok, who pushed him forward gently.

“Your majesty, I would like you to meet Avatar Jongdae.”

Kyungsoo’s head snapped up so fast his crown almost fell off. Jongdae smiled and gave a nervous wave, but the prince did not return the gesture. Instead his face changed, becoming livid and his eyes grew furious as he leapt up from his throne with a growl.

“THIS!? This is my brother’s legacy?! Trapped in the body of a member of the Fire Nation! And not just anyone from the Fire Nation, but their prince. Bred from a family of tyrants! Fate is cruel indeed. IT’s time to put an end to this injustice and restore the Avatar spirit to a race worthy of it—“

With a snarl he hurled thousands of tiny razor sharp rocks at Jongdae as Minseok looked on in horror, rolling out of the way. But suddenly he stopped short. The rocks hovered in the air in front of Jongdae…but it was not Jongdae who stood before him, but Jonghyun himself, arms folded with one palm up to stop the rucks flung at him, and looking cross and disappointed. Kyungsoo was held in place, transfixed by his brother’s disapproving eyes, locking his gaze for only a few seconds before he wavered and collapsed in front of him.

“Kyungsoo!” that tone he had grown so used to, he always had hated it as a child, now he never knew he missed it so much. “What is the meaning of this?” the rocks fell to the floor around the Earth Kingdom ruler, and he was too ashamed to look up. “You would attack me like this? You could have killed me!”

I—I’m sorry, Jonghyun….I just—“ Kyungsoo stammered out, realizing his brother was expecting an explanation.

“Is this any way to treat the Avatar? Who represents peace and unity?” Jonghyun continued sternly, tapping his foot.

“N-no. No I wasn’t going to kill you—“

“I AM Jongdae. We are the Avatar. You will show him the same respect you would have given to me. Fire Nation or not, it’s no excuse.”

“Brother, please forgive me.” Kyungsoo sobbed, bowing his head to the floor and looking up again only to see a very confused and slightly disturbed Jongdae. They were alone in the room.

“Uhhh…?”

“I am sorry for my behavior, Jongdae.” the prince got to his feet, barely taller than him. “I let my hatred get the better of me. Jonghyun was my brother.”

That was where Jongdae had seen those eyes before!

“You have the same eyes.” he told the older sincerely.

Kyungsoo smiled faintly.

“I’m sorry I’m not what you were expecting.” the Fire Nation Prince sighed apologetically.

“No, it was wrong of me to act like that. Jonghyun would be disappointed in me. He always worked so hard for peace, I can never remember him ever lifting a finger to harm. Even when he would scold me for running away from our teacher, he was always so calm. I want to be like him but…” Kyungsoo’s eyes grew distant, “I just don’t feel l can ever be like him.”

“I know how that feels.” Jongdae sympathized, “I want to be an Avatar like your brother too. I want to unite the four nations peacefully, with no war. But I’m not like him. I’m me. And you’re not like him, you’re you. I think he would want you to remember that.”

Suddenly, Kyungsoo gasped, startling Jongdae.  
“Where are my manners?! You must be hungry. I’ll have dinner made for you and you can dine with me and tell me everything.”

He clapped his hands and the servants reentered, somewhat cautiously, along with Minseok.

“I would like to formally apologize to you and the Avatar for how I acted.” Kyungsoo bowed deeply to them. Minseok was mildly surprised at the sudden change of heart. The prince seemed happier than usual, a twinkle in his eye that Minseok had never seen. He knew the younger missed his brother dearly, and had never expected the throne to be passed onto him so soon.

Kyungsoo seemed to connect fairly well with Jongdae as they ate, and even offered to have him taught by Jonghyun’s teacher: Mei Fu. Jongdae readily accepted. He fell asleep that night tired but happy. He was finally going to learn earth bending! He felt close to Jonghyun here, in his room. It felt like home.

 

*****************************

 

“You WHAT?!!?” his mother shrieked and Chanyeol winced.

“We may have been a bit…unprepared, Aunt Hyojeon.” Baekhyun explained with that sickly sweet voice.

Unprepared my ass, Chanyeol muttered under his breath, but said nothing, letting his cousin, who his mother clearly favored, do all the talking.

“What does that mean? You are the most skilled fire bender in the nation, Baekhyun, aside from my husband and The Avatar, and yet even you could not defeat him?!” she scolded, somewhat placated but clearly ruffled.

“I CAN!” Baekhyun shouted in a sudden outburst, sending white flames from his mouth. “I just need more time. More training. I will kill him. I will!”

“And you, Chanyeol!” his mother whirled on his suddenly, making him jump. “I suppose you have no ambition whatsoever, as usual! You deadbeat! Some days I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to just give the throne to Jongdae! Avatar or not at least he has ambitions!”

Her scathing words made Chanyeol’s blood boil, but he kept it to himself. The thought of Jongdae on that throne, his throne….

“He was holding back, Aunt Hyojeon.” Baekhyun’s sneer drew his attention and he wanted to kill his tattling cousin right then and there.

“That’s not true! I simply underestimated him!”

“Yeah, and I suppose the fact that he’s your brother has nothing to do with it.” the younger scoffed insolently. 

“I have nothing but the best interests of the Fire Nation in mind!” Chanyeol protested, glaring at Baekhyun who simply stuck his chin out at him and smiled smugly.

“If you’re so confident, why don’t you explain to the Firelord why the Avatar isn’t dead yet.” his mother snapped, shoving him towards the curtained hall.

Chanyeol would really have preferred not to. In fact, he would rather do anything but that. But he refused to show any signs of fear in front of Baekhyun, who was watching him like a hawk, or risk displeasing his mother any further. So he nodded curtly, took a deep breath and entered the throne room. 

He knew his father had always loved Jongdae more, with his sweet mannerisms and extraordinary bending abilities. Maybe Baekhyun was right, maybe it was hard for his parents to have Jongdae dead, but he could never forget what he heard that night; they were going to stab him to death in his sleep. The memory made chills run up his spine.

“Father.” he bowed deeply upon entering. Although his father was hidden from his view behind a wall of flame, he could feel his gaze piercing his soul, criticizing.

“I’ll excuse your failure this once, Chanyeol.” he paused and Chanyeol held his breath, knowing better than to count his blessings before his father was finished. “Perhaps it was a blessing that you were so weak. I’ve changed my mind about Jongdae.”

“Sir?” Chanyeol looked up, confused.

“I’ve been blind. We are lucky enough to have the Avatar in our grasp; lucky that the cycle has fallen in the Fire Nation. It would be a shame to let such power go to waste. We could rule the world, if only we had him on our side. Fortunately, we do.”

“With all due respect, sir,” the prince began, “we really don’t—“

“Don’t interrupt me, Chanyeol!” the flames licked higher and he took a few steps backwards. “Jongdae is still young, confused. If we can get him back, I’m sure he can be…persuaded.”

Chanyeol swallowed hard as he felt his mother and Bakehyun come up behind him.

“You will find him and bring him back to me. If you fail,” there was an ominous silence and the fire crackled. “I’ll kill you myself.”

“Wow, Chanyeolie, you better not screw this one up.” Baekhyun snickered before Chanyeol shoved past him and out of the throne room.

Once outside, he allowed himself a few minutes to breathe in the fresh air, he had felt horribly constricted before his father. Bring Jongdae back? Was this some sort of trap? Jongdae would never agree to whatever his father would tell him, Chanyeol knew it. The boy wasn’t an idiot, and even if he were, he had six other mysterious beings giving him all sorts of advice; one of them being Jiyong. Chanyeol paused as he passed by the mural of the firelord in the hallway, staring up into the severe eyes. It unnerved him. Somehow he felt as if it might come to life at any moment and kill him for wishing to harm his descendent. He had read in his studies that the Fire Nation was never greater than when it was under Jiyong…perhaps that was what his father wanted? He heard Baekhyun’s faint laughter echoing down the hall behind him and elected to move on. He wanted to avoid the his cousin as much as possible. He desperately hoped he would not have to travel with him….

He was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyungsoo is here! Honestly, I loved writing that scene. It was a last minute decision to make him related to Jonghyun


	8. Mei Fu

Jongdae was awake early and found happily that Kyungsoo’s clothes fit him pretty well. The suggestion was met with some disapproving glances, but Jongdae was given no more trouble. Kyungsoo had ordered that anyone who hurt him would be immediately and harshly punished, and Prince Kyungsoo was not one to be trifled with.

“Are you ready to train today?” Kyungsoo asked him kindly as he watched the younger stuff his face at breakfast.

Jongdae ate like a starved man while Minseok looked slightly embarrassed. 

“Mmhmm.” came the reply, although Jongdae wasn’t really listening. 

“We didn’t exactly have the best food while we were traveling, especially since he’s used to royal food…” the General explained, but Kyungsoo just laughed.

“I’ve never had earth kingdom food before! It’s pretty good! Not that spicy though.” Jongdae commented, examining a bun he had picked up before shoving it in his mouth appreciatively.

“Our tastes aren’t quite as…explosive…as the Fire Nation’s, I’ll admit.” 

Minseok snorted at the bad joke. He could see why Junmyeon was friends with Kyungsoo. Although the man had seemed harsh at first, and still was quite reserved around anyone else, he had seemed to open up very quickly to Jongdae. The younger had something about him that made him easy to be around, and besides, he had the soul of Kyungsoo’s older brother, so that probably had something to do with it.

“We should go. Mei Fu hates to be kept waiting.” Kyungsoo stood up, and Jongdae reluctantly rolled him to the courtyard.

“Mei Fu, this is Jongdae.” Kyungsoo introduced, approaching a shorter woman in her seventies.

Mei Fu had her gray hair tied up in a green ribbon, and it was clear that she had smiled often in her youth. Her smile was kind and full of white teeth that contrasted with his sun-kissed skin. She bowed to Jongdae, who immediately got shy.

“The Avatar. I am honored to be able to train the great Avatar spirit twice in my lifetime. I knew your previous life, Jonghyun. He was an excellent pupil. I have never seen such skill before.”

“I hope I will not disappoint you.” Jongdae smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as Kyungsoo and Minseok left. “I can already kinda earth bend but…there wasn’t much chance for me to practice, being the prince of the Fire Nation and all…”

He trailed off, seeing as Mei Fu had her eyes fixed on something behind him.

“Train me well, Mei Fu.” the wispy form of Jonghyun commanded with a nod and a smile before vanishing and leaving her gaping.

Jongdae whirled around, but there was no one there. He turned back questioningly, but Mei Fu just shook her head.

“I am sorry. Let us begin!”

Jongdae was nothing like Jonghyun, as both himself and Mei Fu quickly learned. He got bored easily and had nowhere near the focus and seriousness the Earth Kingdom Prince had had. Jongdae was antsy and had too much of Firebender form for Mei’s tastes, but to his credit, Jongdae tried very hard and was extremely talented. He would master Earth Bending within a week, Mei Fu was sure of it. It wasn’t that he couldn’t already, it was just that he was uncontrolled and uncoordinated. The earth was too solid for his slightly attitude.

“Slower! You jump around too much!” Mei Fu scolded. “An Earth Bender is solid, firm. Like the earth! Here.”

She adjusted Jongdae’s form a bit.

“Now try.”

“I’m tired!” he whined, forcefully sending a circled of small rocks flying across the courtyard, and then sitting down with a huff.

“Jongdae! We’ve only just started! How can you hope to master earth bending when you’ve only done it for fifteen minutes? Now up!” Mei Fu lifted the ground he was sitting on into the air and then split it in half, dumping him back on his feet again.

“I already mastered earth bending! Like uh…” he counted on his fingers for a moment “ six times! I’ll just ask Jonghyun if I need help.”

“Maybe you should ask him to help you not be so stubborn and lazy, then.” the old woman returned snidely. “Jonghyun would practice for hours. Now he had patience.”

“Well, I’m not Jonghyun!” Jongdae snapped, clearly unused to being spoken to like this. “He was perfect and good at everything and loved by everyone! I’m me, the Fire Nation Prince who’s stubborn and impatient that everyone hates and the Avatar everyone wants dead so I can be reborn into the Air Nomads! I was a mistake.” 

His voice cracked a bit towards the end and he trailed off, stomping his foot in frustration, causing a huge crack to form before dropping to his knees and putting his head in his hands and starting to cry.

“No.” a gentle voice spoke, and he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, rubbing soothing circles. “You are you, Jongdae of the Fire Nation who is stubborn and impatient and who will become a great man. You are The Avatar we need the most now, who will lead us to peace with the Fire Nation for good. The Avatar spirit makes no mistakes, Jongdae. You are not Jonghyun. You will continue what he started, you will bring the peace he always talked about. You will save us.”

“But everyone hates me. They don’t want me.” he shook his head and refused to look up.

“You have friends. Good friends,” Mei continued softly. “Good friends are invaluable, they make you who you are. For people to accept you Jongdae, you must first accept yourself. Now, are you going to master earth bending or not?”

“Yes.” Jongdae clenched his fists, not in anger, but in determination, inhaling deeply as the pebbles on the ground trembled with the force of the power he was summoning. They lifted with him as he stood up. “Yes I am.”

“A true Earth Bender is like the earth. They are solid, resilient. You get knocked down, you get back up. Do you understand?”

“I do.” Jongdae nodded, planting his feet firmly in the ground.

“Feel the earth beneath you, feel it’s solidness. It will never let you down. Chanel it through you. You have the stubbornness of an earth bender, now bend that stubbornness to your will just as you will bend these rocks to your will. Do you understand?”

“I do.” 

“Good. Now lift that.” Mei Fu commanded, pointing to the large statue of Jonghyun that stood on the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

Jongdae took a deep breath, looking at the statue. It was huge, and he didn’t want to break it…he remembered what Mei Fu had said about stubbornness. Bend it to your will. Bend it to me will. And I will move that statue.

He set his jaw and began to go through the moves. To his surprise, the statue lifted up into the air easily, Mei Fu nodding in approval as she looked on.

“Well done, Avatar.”

Jongdae could swear he saw the statue smile at him as he lifted it higher, the smaller rocks in the courtyard lifting with it as the ground shook. He drew the rocks up to form a circle around Jonghyun, making it look like he was the one causing them to circle himself. Kyungsoo, who had just returned from his walk with Minseok to see how it was going, stopped in shock at the sight. The wind picked up slightly, drying a stray tear that slipped down his cheek, and yet somehow, he had never felt more at home. Often he had looked out to see his brother practicing in the courtyard, doing the very same thing, and now…

Minseok himself was shocked. Jongdae had practically mastered earth in mere hours. Junmyeon had been right about him. 

“Minseok! Look.” Jongdae set the statue back down gently before throwing a rope of rocks at him.

“Yah!” he yelped and jumped out of the way, a smile still on his face.

“You’re good.” Kyungsoo commented, snapping out of his daze. “How would you like to fight me?”

Jongdae shook his head and let the rocks fall. 

“I don’t want to fight anyone.”

“I didn’t mean actually fight…?” the prince spoke tentatively, unsure whether he had offended the boy or not.

“I know, but you could get hurt. I’ve already hurt enough. My people have hurt enough.” 

Some young pupils of Mei Fu ran past, turning their eyes away and hurrying by Jongdae whispering to each other. She scolded them, but Kyungsoo knew Jongdae had noticed, and it made the guilt of his own actions cut deeper. He couldn’t get his brother’s disappointed voice out of his mind. Minseok had told him he had split with his group so they could be safe, but Kyungsoo wondered if it wasn’t because the others wanted to get away from Jongdae. He watched him with pity as his shoulder dropped and he sighed, lightly touching his tied up hair, a dead giveaway to his nationality.

“Jongdae, lets go rest.” Minseok put an arm around him and guided him away, “You’ve worked hard, you must be tired.”

The younger didn’t protest and let Minseok take him back to his room. For the first time, he found himself actually missing home. At least there people didn’t give him dirty looks or whisper behind his back. At least there people appreciated him.

“I can practically hear you thinking. What’s wrong?” Minseok sat down on the bed next to Jongdae, the bed dipping and causing Jongdae to lean into him tiredly.  
“I’m so lonely, Minseok. I know I have you, but I can’t help it. I’m so tired, I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’m so tired of having people stare at me, of getting attacked everywhere I go, of being…of being judged all the time. I’m sorry” he neglected to mention that nagging desire to return home that had become progressively louder with every passing day.

“I know. I know it’s been hard, and I’m sorry for the way you’ve been treated. But I promise you, once you’ve mastered the four elements, Prince Junmyeon will help you take the throne. With the Avatar on the throne of the Fire Nation, you can stop the world from falling into war. It will be worth it.” Minseok wrapped Jongdae’s small body in his arms, running his fingers through his hair soothingly.

He had decided, ever since he first met Jongdae, that the boy was going to be another younger brother to him. He already had three, and he missed them so much, caring for Jongdae brought them closer in a way. Jondae was somehow like and unlike all three of them. He was smiley like Minhyung, stubborn like Chenle and caring like Shuyang. He wondered what they were doing now, with him gone. Were they doing their chores? Being kind to each other? He knew Chenle was starting his water bending training…

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t realize Jongdae had fallen asleep in his arms. Gently, he tucked him in and quietly closed the door, letting him rest.

 

***********************************

 

Chanyeol was turning things over in his head, trying to come up with a plan for how he was going to even find Jongdae, let alone convince him to come back home willingly. He knew he could never take him by force. Could he take him by force? Jongdae would never hurt him, but the Avatar would. He thought back again to Jiyong’s severe eyes as he had stared up at them in the hallway and shuddered. He didn’t want that thing coming after him again. He sighed settled back into his seat on the ship deck, watching the waves. The roll of the water brought back a memory.

 

Chanyeol had been looking forward to a restful time out in the garden, reading. He had brought several Fire Bending scrolls out with him to study. His peaceful solitude by the fountain was rudely interrupted by something cold down his back.

“JONGDAE!” he yelped, leaping up to his feet and whirled around to find the younger laughing hard and holding his sides.

“Your face Yeolie!” he snickered, dropping to the ground.

“Jongdae, you need to stop!” he hissed, jumping around, trying to warm himself up.

The younger had poured water down his back, but Chanyeol for some reason could never find it in himself to be angry at his younger brother for long. 

“I’m sorry, Yeolie. I can warm you up again?” the culprit giggled, wiggling his fingers as lightning sparkled around them. 

“No, thanks.” he paused, suddenly an idea came into his mind. “Jongdae?”

“Hmm?” Jongdae had snaked his arms around him, head only coming up to his chest.

“Teach me how to bend lightning, please?” he mumbled, slowly returning the hug. It was one of the rare moments he was affectionate with his brother.

“I don’t know if I can.” Jongdae pulled away to look him in the eye, giving him a toothy apologetic grin. “I’m sure you’d be good at it, but I don’t know how to teach you. I don’t know how I do it, it just happens.”

Chanyeol had heard rumors of the Fire Benders’ unique power to bend lightning. It was rare to be able to control it, rarer still to be able to produce it instead of flame. Jongdae was one of those blessed with that gift, summoning the blue sparks with ease, thin threads of electricity moving of their own accord along his arms and fingers. He had perfect control of it, and what was more, he could do it with a calm mind. That was something no one had ever been able to do. Lightning was only summoned with extreme effort, and usually accompanied by extreme anger, but Chanyeol had never seen his brother angry in his life.

“Yeah. I wish I could learn though.” he sighed ruefully. “Father would be so proud of me.”

“I’m sure Father is already proud of you! I’m proud of you.” Jongdae smiled encouragingly, “You’re going to make a great Firelord.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

 

“Prince Chanyeol?” Someone called him as an idea was starting to form in his head. 

“Yes?” 

“We’ve arrived.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Xiumin’s station was kinda why I picked him bc it was so cute. Shuyang is my adopted son, Boystory is honestly so smol and tiny pls stan.


	9. Jonghyun

“You’ve done well, Avatar. Jonghyun would be proud.” Mei Fu nodded, pleased. “There is not much more I can teach you, you know your moves well.”

“Thanks! Earth is fun to bend!” Jongdae bowed, smiling widely. 

“Bending isn’t about fun, Jongdae. It’s an art.” The Old woman began, but stopped as she saw Kyungsoo approach from the side. “But here is young Prince Kyungsoo.”

“Jongdae, before you go, can i speak to you for a moment?” Kyungsoo looked slightly nervous and troubled, so Jongdae immediately agreed and after giving Mei Fu a hug, the two walked out of the courtyard and into the outer gardens 

The gardens were calm, and Jongdae could sense a strong presence of peace here. He wondered if it was a sort of well that the benders drew their energy from. He felt connected to the earth here, and Jonghyun was very strong, sitting at the forefront of his thoughts. 

“Jongdae, this might sound a bit unusual, but I have a request.” Kyungsoo turned to him as soon as they were alone, looking earnestly into the youngers eyes. 

“Of course, Prince Kyungsoo. You’ve been so kind to me.” 

“I don’t know if this is possible, but when I first threw rocks at you, when I saw you, I—I saw my brother there, instead of you...” he licked his lips nervously, “and...and I was wondering if perhaps...I could maybe speak to him again?”

Jongdae considered for a moment. He didn’t see why not, but the problem was he had no idea how to accomplish that.

“I’d—I’m afraid I don’t know how, though.” He shook his head sadly. “I can talk to Jonghyun, but I don’t know if anyone else could...”

“I figured, so I brought you here. It’s very...”

“It was my favorite place, yes.” A familiar voice startled Kyungsoo and he nearly jumped out of his skin to find Jonghyun standing next to him. 

“Jonghyun! You...you’re here! But Jongdae said he...” he spluttered.

“Jongdae cannot see or hear this interaction. I’m in your head, little brother.” Jonghyun explained, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robes as he often did. “So...?”

“I—I don’t know where to start. I’m so lost, Jonghyun. Ruling the kingdom is so hard, I only want to do what is best for my people, but I feel so helpless sometimes. I feel like I’m failing. Everyday I look at the pictures of you on the walls, I hear the priests tell your story, I think about you and all that you did. I want to be like you, brother, but I will never live up to your legacy.” Kyungsoo looked at his feet, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Kyungsoo.” Jonghyun chuckles softly. “I know what your problem is. You will never be a good ruler if you keep wanting to be someone else. I helped bring peace to the kingdom, I did my part. Your part is different, and you cannot do it if you keep trying to do my part. It’s like i always tell Jongdae: you are not me. Everything I did, I did for you, so you could stand on my shoulders and accomplish what I could not. But that cannot happen if you continue to dwell in the past.”

“I’m sorry, brother. You’re right. I’ve been trying so hard to be just like you, I haven’t tried to be me, the ruler I should be.” Kyungsoo began to understand.

“You need to stop living in the past, Soo. Let me go.” Jonghyun’s voice was gentle, and tears began to fall from Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“Is this goodbye?” He managed to choke out. 

“For now. But I’ll always be with you. Always. Look for me in the rocks you lift, look for me in the breeze that blows, in the footsteps that echo in the hallways where we used to play, in the flowers in the garden where you used to watch me practice. But most importantly, look for me in others, imagine they are me, and be kind.” Kyungsoo was truly crying now, looking into his brother’s gray eyes for what he knew would be the last time. “Take care of Jongdae for me. I love you, Kyungsoo. I’m so proud of you. So proud. Goodbye.” 

And with that, he was gone, and Jongdae was standing in his place, kneeling beside the sobbing Prince. He put his arm on the others back, and somehow it was comforting. Jongdae said nothing, but he clearly understood, nothing needed to be said. 

“I’m glad you got to talk to him one last time.” Was all, before he fell silent, allowing the other to cry his heart out.

After that moment, Kyungsoo swore he would always and forever do whatever it took to remain loyal to Jongdae. One day, Jongdae told him, he hoped to be firelord and bring peace between Earth and fire, something that had not been for one hundred years. Jongdae had added that he hoped to be an Avatar like Jonghyun was and to honor his memory as best as he could. 

He insisted on sending the two off with more supplies than they could carry. Jongdae wasn’t about to object to the amount of food, but Minseok stepped in as the voice of reason, arguing that unless Jongdae wanted to carry all of that, he was not trekking across the seas to the Northern Water Tribe Kingdom with that on his back. Disappointed, but made to see reason, Jongdae politely declined. 

“You should stop by the Northern Air Temple on your way. Jongin is a very good air bender, and I’m told he has one of the best connections to the spirit world. The Avatar should have a strong connection with the spirit world.” Kyungsoo told them as he walked them towards the edge of the palace walls.

“Wow really?!” Jongdae asked excitedly.

“Jongin is about your age, too.” 

“That’s good. You need friends your own age, Jongdae, instead of us old people.” Minseok joked.

“I need friends.” Jongdae mumbled.  
Kyungsoo and Minseok did not miss the sadness in his voice, and exchanged looks, but said nothing.

“I’ll have a ship waiting for you at the port. Good luck, Avatar. If ever you need my help, I will come with the entire Earth Kingdom at my back. They would be honored to serve the Avatar and successor of Jonghyun.” Kyungsoo bowed politely, before he wavered and enveloped Jongdae in a bone crushing hug. “Goodbye, Jongdae.” he whispered into the other’s ear.

As he watched the pair travel down the road, slowly fading into the distance, he wondered why it felt like he was loosing his brother all over again. 

He remembered his small feet pattering across the marble floors and cautiously pushing open the door to his brother’s room. Jonghyun was lying on the bed, halfway between sleep and consciousness, staring blankly at the ceiling, face pale, yet flushed with fever at the same time.

“Jonghyunnie?” he asked curiously, poking his small face, which barely reached the edge of the bed.

“Hey, Soo soo.” the older turned his head weakly, giving his younger brother a faint smile. “What are you doing in here? Shouldn’t you…” he paused to take a few labored breaths “shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“I miss you. You’re never around anymore. I liked watching you practice in the courtyard.” he pouted, reaching out to touch his elder brother’s cheek. The other closed his eyes at the touch, exhaling.

“I’m sorry. But I’ve been sick, Soo soo.” he whispered.

“Oh! But mother and father can just call a water bender, right? You’ll be okay soon.” Kyungsoo smiled happily, missing the look in his brother’s eye.

“Yes. I’ll be okay soon.” the other agreed. “I love you.”

Kyungsoo had only realized later that Jonghyun had refused to be healed, recognizing the Avatar spirit had chosen the time to be reborn for a great task, something he was more than willing to sacrifice himself for. His parents had honored his wishes, although it broke their hearts, and his brother had died not a month after he had had that last conversation with him.

 

“I didn’t know Jonghyun had a brother!” Jongdae was telling Minseok happily as they walked back towards the port. 

“They were clearly close, despite their age difference.” Minseok nodded, half listening, keeping a wary eye out. He had a sense that something bad was going to happen, a head feeling in his stomach he hadn’t been able to shake all day.

“Do you have any brothers, Minseokie?” Jongdae continued, oblivious.

“I do.” Minseok smiled fondly at the memory of his three younger siblings. “There’s Minhyung, he’s eighteen, and he’s always smiling, just like you.” Jongdae smiled at that, “Then there’s Chenle. He’s a water bender, started his official training shortly before I left. A bit grumpy, but we love him. The youngest is Shuyang, he’s very serious and focused, but if you get him talking and he likes you, he’ll never shut up.”

“Wow, Minseok, you must really miss them. They sound fun. Will I get to meet them?” 

“Yes, you will! I’m sure they’ll be very happy to meet you, too.”

“Good! Cuz it’s like Kyungsoo said, I need more friends who aren’t old men!” he teased.

“Hey, I’m not old!” Minseok chuckled, punching Jongdae lightly in the shoulder.

The two had reached the port now, and Minseok caught Jongdae looking longingly at a necklace of the earth bending symbol engraved in jade.

“Why don’t you buy something for yourself as a souvenir.” he slipped a few coins Kyungsoo had given them into the younger’s hand.

“Really?!” Jongdae’s eyes lit up and he bounced up and down happily.

“Yeah, I’ll wait for you on the ship. Don’t be too long though, or I’ll start to get worried.” Minseok shooed him off and Jongdae skipped away happily towards the rows of shops.

 

Minseok shook his head as he watched him go, hoping he’d stay safe and not do anything to attract attention to himself, but he had faith Jongdae would be somewhat prudent. He stepped onto the ship easily, feeling at home on the sea. Anytime he was near water he felt instantly better, stronger even. The feeling did not last long as two figures stepped out of the shadows, one in front and one behind.

“General Minseok!” Chanyeol’s crossed his arms and looked down at the older water bender, being much taller. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Immediately, Minseok was on the defensive, hand reaching for his knife.

“Oh, that won’t be necessary, we aren’t going to kill you.” another voice, much higher pitched, came from behind him and he turned to see another Fire Nation Prince standing there with an evil smile. “Unless, of course, Jongdae doesn’t agree to our conditions.”

“What do you want with Jongdae?!” Minseok snarled, becoming protective at the mention of the young Avatar.

“I want my brother back, of course.” Chanyeol growled back, “ Thank you for taking such good care of him. But it’s time for him to come home.” 

“He’s not going anywhere with you. You tried to kill him!” Minseok was focusing on uncorking the cap to his bending water, knowing there was no way this was ending without a fight.

“We’ve since realized our mistake.” Chanyeol retorted.

“Yeolie, you’re going to blab out the entire plan! Let’s just knock him out and get it over with. Then find your bratty little brother.” Baekhyun picked his nails, bored.

“Fine.”

“I am not about to be beat by two stuck up teenagers from the Fire Nation.” Minseok hissed, snapping a long stream of water of their heads, making them duck.

“Oh, I’m more than just a stuck up teenager.” Baekhyun’s laugh was practically vicious by now as daggers of pearl white flames shot out of his fingers towards Minseok. “I’m a Fire Bending Master. At seventeen.”

Minseok quickly drew up wall of water to extinguish them, but they were more powerful than he had anticipated, and they caused him to loose balance slightly, stumbling. Baekhyun seemed to be expecting this, and he took the opportunity to catch him off guard with rapid fireballs. Finally, Minseok was able to curl a tendril of water around his ankle and yank him forcefully downwards, smacking his head against the deck as he fell, lying still. The second Baekhyun went down, Chanyeol stepped into the fight. He was different than Baekhyun; his attacks were less powerful, but more planned and precise, making him a slightly more dangerous opponent. It didn’t help that it was almost noon, which was when Chanyeol and Baekhyun would be at their strongest, while Minseok would be at his weakest. 

“I’m taking my brother home, I won’t let you stand in my way.” he hissed as they circled each other, looking for the perfect moment to strike.

“Oh I plan on standing in your way.” Minseok scoffed. “You’re going to kill him, I don’t care what you say otherwise, and I won’t let you do that. You’ll have to take him over my dead body.”

Something struck him hard on the back of the head and he realized too late that Baekhyun had faked unconsciousness and used Chanyeol to distract. He felt the world spin and suddenly everything was overwhelming, the heat was so intense as he dropped to his knees and then to the deck.

“Fine,” Baekhyun smirked as he pressed a knife into the side of Minseok’s throat, “But I wonder how Jongdae would feel about that.”

“MINSEOK!!” Jongdae screamed the second he boarded the ship to see his brother and cousin ready to kill the water bender.

He lunged forward, lighting already dancing at his fingertips when Chanyeol caught him.

“Tch Tch.” Baekhyun clicked his tongue, “If you even so much as think of going all Avatar on us, I’ll slit his throat.”

The lightning disappeared as Jongdae willed his anger to go down, breathing hard, terrified that Baekhyun would keep his word.

“No, Jongdae, they’ll kill you! Run!” Minseok rasped out as much as he could with the cold steel cutting into him with every movement, causing his neck to smart.

Jongdae shoved Chanyeol away and sighed.

“But if you agree to come with Yeolie and I, we’ll let him go. You father is hardly interested in some measly Water Tribe General when we have the Avatar.” Baekhyun continued, staring hard at his young cousin, who wavered.

On the one hand, Jongdae knew Minseok would be devastated if he was taken by the Fire Nation, but on the other, he would rather die than have Minseok dead. The Avatar would be reborn into someone else, someone else more worthy maybe. Perhaps this was for the best anyway.

“Alright.” he said softly, holding out his hands as a sign of agreement, “I’ll come with you.”

“Dae, NO!” Minseok struggled in Baekhyun’s hold, but the other ignored him, grinning at Jongdae as he unceremoniously, shoved Minseok over the side of the boat.

“I’m sorry, Minseok.” Jongdae whispered as Chanyeol took him by the shoulders and ushered him onto their own Fire Nation ship as Baekhyun ordered them to set a course for the Fire Nation.

Don’t you trust me anymore? a voice within him asked, but he ignored it.

He didn’t put up any fight at all as Chanyeol took him down below deck shoved him into a cell, shackling him to two poles. He searched his brother’s eyes for any sort of emotion whatsoever, he wanted so desperately to hug him, but the elder turned on his heel once he had finished and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Jongdae’s shoulder’s dropped as he heard the lock click into place, then silence. He wished more than ever Minseok was here, and he regretted ever wanting to go back home. It was cold and dark, they left him with no fire whatsoever, the only light coming in through the crack underneath the door. Silent tears slipped down his face as he began to cry, resigning himself to his fate.

Chanyeol had practically run from the room, anything to get away from Jongdae’s sad eyes. He looked so young back there, and Chanyeol had wanted so badly to hug him. It didn’t feel right, chaining up his fifteen year old brother and leaving him like that, he fought with himself as he leaned against the wall just outside the door, closing his eyes. He heard Jongdae crying quietly and his heart clenched again painfully. 

“Who do you love more, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s voice came beside him and his eyes snapped open, irritated. “Your brother or your people?”

“You know the answer to that.” he growled, before stalking away and locking himself in his room.

He tossed and turned all through the night, not being able to sleep when he knew Jongdae was by himself, probably cold and miserable. Finally he threw his covers off with a yell of irritation and grabbed an empty cup, stalking off to go fill it up with water. The guard let him by easily, he knew the guards liked Jongdae. Everyone did, it seemed, except his own family. He knew it was because Jongdae had always been nice to them, he knew the name of every member of the royal guard. Amazing what kindness could do…

Jongdae’s head perked up as he heard the door unlock and a stream of light entering made him squint. A tall silhouette stood in the doorway, one he recognized well. 

“Chanyeolie?” he whispered, voice dry from lack of water.

“Here. You’re probably thirsty.” Chanyeol strode over and held the cup out to him for a second before realizing Jongdae couldn’t move his hands. “Oh.” he coughed awkwardly, “Right. Here.”

He brought it up to Jongdae’s lips, who drank it quickly and smiled gratefully. How he could still be in a mood to smile at him after all of this was a mystery to Chanyeol. He had been tempted more than once to incinerate Baekhyun in his sleep, stab his father, poison his mother; but they were all horrible people, and Chanyeol wondered if Jongdae himself even felt resentment towards them. Which left him with the question: why didn’t Jongdae resent him? Could it be that he had some scrap of goodness left? Or was it merely brotherly affection? 

“Are you going to kill me?” Jongdae asked suddenly, shaking Chanyeol out of his thoughts.

“No. No Dae, we’re not. Father and Mother want you home.” Chanyeol sat down awkwardly next to his brother, who was still standing, making Chanyeol feel guilty.

“Why else would they bring me home if not to kill me? Especially like this.” he wiggled his thin wrists in his chains.

“Sorry, but the last two times we’ve come to get you, you’ve nearly killed us.” Chanyeol explained, slightly defensive, but mostly to cover up his own guilt. It was true, the chains were his father’s idea, and Chanyeol had personally thought that it was a bit cruel, but orders were orders, especially from their father “Father just wanted precautions.”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to kill you Chanyeolie.” Jongdae explained. 

“I know I know, it’s your Avatar state thing. But thats why it has to be this way Dae.” he seized on that explanation and stuck with it.

“No, it really doesn’t.” Jongdae chuckled with a hint of sarcasm. 

Chanyeol’s heart sank. He knew from the tone that Jongdae wasn’t buying any of this, and he shuddered, knowing what would happen if Jongdae refused. His father’s methods of persuasion were….unpleasant.

“I have to go.” Chanyeol stood up to leave.

“Wait, Chanyeol.” Jongdae called after him, and Chanyeol froze. There was something different laced through his brother’s words, and he actually felt afraid for the first time. “I want you to know….I hope…I hope you come back. I miss you.”

He was about to protest that he was right here, but he closed his mouth before any sound came out. He knew what Jongdae meant, and it cut through his soul. He felt as if he had been violently punched in the gut by those words. I hope you come back. Where was he? What had changed? Because something had, and he knew it. He was becoming the very people he hated. He gasped softly and ran out, leaving the guard to close the door.

Jongdae hoped his words had gotten through to his brother. It hurt more than anything that his own brother had chained him up down here and left him like some sort of prisoner. The fact that he cared enough to bring him something to drink before he passed out gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, his brother wasn’t completely gone. Maybe, he could save him. But somehow, he knew, this was something he, Jongdae had to do, and not something the Avatar had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert for My Annoying Brother so if you haven’t seen it....
> 
>  
> 
> Ok so when my friend read this she said the part with Kyungsoo and Jonghyun reminded her of the moment in My Annoying Brother at the end when Ksoo is listening to the tape recording his brother left. 
> 
> If you haven’t seen that movie definitely watch Kyungsoo is amazing, acting so good it shook my bias list. I cried my head off 10/10 the only sports movie I’ll ever watch


	10. The Firelord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh there’s torture in this, so just a warning. It’s not too graphic and it’s not that much I just wanted to warn.

Minseok pulled himself from the water, watching the ship retreat into the distance. He was fuming mad, and his head was throbbing. He considered going after them, but he soon realized they were moving far too fast, fueled by their fire and he would never catch up with them. Instead he resolved to return directly to Kyungsoo. Jongdae, he had to save Jongdae. He hoped Junmyeon would understand, but, after all, the water tribe prince himself had given him the mission to protect the Avatar, saying he would need it. He still felt a bit weak, and was beginning to suspect the wetness on the back of his head was not just from being pushed into the sea. It didn’t matter, he forced himself to walk, step by step, his feet growing heavier and heavier until finally, his legs collapsed form underneath him and he fell, the world around him fading to black.

 

**********************

Jongdae wanted to sleep. He hadn’t been able to in two days and he was so tired; so so tired. Chanyeol threw the door open and he closed his eyes against the bright light. But, it wasn’t Chanyeol. A figure rushed towards him and enveloped him in a hug as his chains were undone.

“Jongdae sweetheart! I missed you so much! Chanyeol did you you do this!?” his mother whirled on his brother in a fury, who merely bowed his head and scuffed his feet, then turned her attention back to Jongdae. “Are you hurt darling?”

“No.” he whispered. He didn’t want to give in, didn’t want to let her win, but he was tired and cold and hungry and his mother felt warm and loving. He felt himself drifting off, exhaustion taking over and knees giving out as his mother caught him. 

“Jongdae!”

 

When he awoke, he was in his own bed, the sun coming through the window and gently onto his face, and he was aware of his parents sitting in the room on one side of him, Chanyeol on the other. His wrists were bandaged, which he hardly thought was necessary, and he was extremely thirsty.

“Jongdae! You’re awake!” his mother reached over and brushed some hair out of his eyes. “We were so worried, you slept for two days.”

He tried to say something back, but his throat was too dry. Chanyeol noticed this and handed him the glass of water which he gulped down in seconds.

“Why am I here?” he spoke finally.

“Oh, don’t you remember? We were looking everywhere for you after you ran away, Chanyeol finally found you.” she continued, smiling, holding his hand.

“You sent him and Baekhyun to kill me.” Jongdae retorted bluntly, pulling his hand out of hers. “And they hurt my friends.”

“We just wanted you back home, sweetheart. Why did you run away?” her sickly sweet voice was hurting his ears and giving him a headache.

He glanced at Chanyeol briefly, who quickly looked down and away.

“I’m not a naive kid like you all think I am. I know you were trying to kill me because I’m the Avatar. You’ve been planning it for years.”

Chanyeol grimaced a bit. He knew Jongdae was going to act like this. He wanted him to just give in or at least play along for his own sake, but Jongdae wasn’t a wimp like him. It made him feel guilty, a fifteen year old with more guts than the next firelord, who stood up for what he believed and didn’t cower in the background like a trained dog.

“Jongdae, I don’t know what that Water Tribe General has been telling you, but we never wanted to kill you.” his father spoke up this time. “I had planned for you to succeed me as Firelord.”

Chanyeol and Jongdae both froze at that, looking at their father with wide eyes. It was always assumed that Chanyeol would one day take his father’s place, but this unprecedented choice of the youngest over the oldest?   
“But…but what about Chanyeol?” Jongdae stammered out, clearly taken aback.

“Why on earth would I hand over my rule to him when I could have the Avatar himself succeed me?” their father laughed. Jongdae hated that laugh; it was cold and cruel and it made him want to hear Minseok’s laugh. 

“I…I…” he paused. His father would not take kindly to being challenged, but Jongdae was already planning his escape, for one and for two, he had no wish to be the firelord. “I don’t want to.” 

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, which was broken by his mother standing up.

“Don’t take it to heart, dear, Jongdae is probably just a little…delirious. He hasn’t eaten in a while. Lets discuss this after he feels a bit more himself.” she laid a hand on her husband’s shoulder, who stood up as well.

“I’m sure you’re right. We’ll talk later, Jongdae.” 

And with that, they left. Jongdae and Chanyeol watched them leave, the heavy doors clanging after them. They both heard the warning in the firelord’s voice, and Chanyeol noticed that Jongdae’s hands had been gripping the sheets until his knuckles were white.

“You know what’s going to happen if you say no, Jongdae.” Chanyeol turned to him once he was sure their parents were gone. 

“I know.” the younger replied simply, closing his eyes and letting out a shaky breath.

“Why don’t you just agree? Why don’t you just do what he asks?” 

“Because I can’t Chanyeol! You know that! Father wants to make me his puppet! What do you want me to do, sit on the throne and have him order me around while he threatens disobedience with death? He’ll make me kill people, he’ll force me into my Avatar state, he’ll..he’ll….” Jongdae broke off and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I won’t do it.”

“Dae…” Chanyeol dropped his voice to a whisper, “He’ll kill you.”

His brother’s shoulders dropped for a moment, and his eyes grew sad, before he squared his shoulders and set his jaw.

“Then the Avatar has decided I must die. Jonghyun accepted his death, and so will I.”

Chanyeol scoffed and stood up. He could not believe this. Jongdae was willing to just let himself be killed for this stupid Avatar spirit? He left the room without another word, leaving Jongdae alone.

 

“What did he say?” his mother asked hopefully, as soon as he entered the room.

Chanyeol shook his head.

“He won’t. He’s far too smart to be tricked into anything.”

The flames rose a bit around where he knew his father was sitting.

“Then we have no choice.” 

“Father! You can’t kill him!” Chanyeol felt guilt wash over him, indignation making him bold. “He’s your son!”

“Don’t stand in my way Chanyeol, or you’ll regret it!” his father stood up, voice echoing through the throne room. The oldest prince backed away a bit before retreating behind a pillar.

“I’m sorry Hyojeon.” 

His mother sighed a bit, but nodded. 

“It’s a shame really. He had so much potential. If only he wasn’t so brilliant.”

Chanyeol was horrified. They were going to kill Jongdae, the thing he had tried so hard to prevent. He had brought him right back to his death.

“If only Woojin would hurry up with that serum, it would make everything so much easier,” she continued. “But it can’t be helped, we’ll just have to bring him around the hard way. I’m sure Baekhyun will enjoy it.”

Suddenly, it hit Chanyeol. They weren’t going to kill Jongdae. They were going to torture him until he gave in and did what they wanted, or until Woojin the mad scientist finished the serum. What had he done?! He had to get out. He needed air. He turned around and ran from the throne room, down the hallways, past Jiyong, his chest tightening with every step. He didn’t stop running until he had rushed past the soldiers guarding the front gates and away from the palace. So far away he wouldn’t be able to hear Jongdae’s screams. He leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He should have seen it earlier, he should have done this a long time ago. He should have run away with Jongdae that night. Instead here he was, running away again from his problems, like a coward. Jongdae? He was going to march right in there and tell his father that he would never be his puppet, like Chanyeol had been all these years. He nearly turned around right then, but he couldn’t. Instead he turned east towards the ocean, the further he went, the more his mind was made up: he was never going back.

 

Jongdae decided he would have rather his father just killed him. He had expected it, but on second thought, it made sense. The firelord wanted to bend him to his will, and crazy Woojin probably hadn’t been able to cook up something to his satisfaction. Jongdae shuddered at the thought. The older boy had always given him the creeps. He had heard that Woojin had tried to invent a serum for firebending, to give people without the ability the power, and Jongdae completely believed it. He wasn’t sure if he would rather Woojin or Baekhyun near him right now, but he had bigger problems than that. He could practically hear Jonghyun and everyone else screaming at him to get out now, but going into the Avatar state was exactly what his father wanted. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on calming down, which was somewhat hard considering every time he tried to move he was reminded that he couldn’t move. He could barely breathe the chains were wrapped around him so tight, but if he used his fire bending, he’d severely burn himself, and he wasn’t good enough at water bending to be able to produce ice. Water bending…Jongdae thought about Minseok, he must be so worried about him, hopefully he’d been able to make it safely back to the northern water tribe by now, so his brothers could see him again. He was a bit envious of them; in the short time he knew him, Minseok had been a better brother to Jongdae than Chanyeol had ever been. Chanyeol, who had had no qualms about dragging him back here to be chained up and probably tortured until he gave in or died. For some reason though, Jongdae couldn’t bring himself to hate his brother. He probably had been convinced the Avatar was evil by their parents, Chanyeol had always been the more gullible of the two, something Jongdae had always found endearing, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the older had believed some nonsense about Jongdae becoming a monster. His thoughts were interrupted by Yifan talking to him, now Jiyong, now Hiyori. He fought back to block them out, he wasn’t going into the Avatar state, not if he had a say in it. The voices became fainter and he concentrated harder on pushing them away until his head was throbbing. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head and he saw white. And then there was nothing. Just emptiness. And he felt alone, more alone than he had felt in his whole life. What had he done? Were they gone? 

“Jonghyun?” he whispered with a choked sob.

There was no response. It was for the best. Now he was just Prince Jongdae, and he was going to die. 

“Cousin Jongdae!” Bakehyun slammed open then door and Jongdae looked up. “wake UP little cousin.”

He skipped over to Jongdae and stuck his face close to his. 

“You know, little cousin, I’ve always been rather….jealous of you. You’re smart, disgustingly sweet, stupidly well-liked, and I even heard a rumor that you were going to be the next firelord. That is, of course, before you idiotically turned down everything in favor of your precious little Avatar spirit. And that is what makes me more angry than anything else.” Baekhyun was seething at the point, “You. Why was it you?! You’re not a real fire nation member, you’re too kind and gentle! It should have been me. I can rule, I command respect, and I’m the most powerful bender in the nation! Even more powerful than the firelord himself! But then of course there has to be you. You who can bend the lightning with perfect calm.”

He paused and ran a finger up Jongdae’s nose, smiling wickedly.

“Mother says I can do whatever I want with you. Oh,” he laughed, seeing Jongdae’s widened eyes. “I’m sorry, I meant Auntie.”

“What are you talking about?” Jongdae squeaked out.  
“Oh please, you never noticed? Granted, you’re a few years younger than Chanyeol and I, and mother always loved you the most, but you’re so smart I expected more from you. The accident that my father and his wife died in? Your parents killed them shortly after I was born, mostly in jealousy.” Baekhyun giggled while he told this to Jongdae, as if it was nothing, a joke to him to be laughed at.

“Baekhyun…” Jongdae started, squirming a little bit.

“Ah ah… shh. I’m doing the talking here, Got it?” he pressed a finger to his younger brother’s lips, and continued.

“Are you going to kill me, Baekhyun?” he whimpered.

“No. No of course not, but I am going to hurt you.” the older laughed.

Jongdae felt the chains around him heating up and he winced.

“Ow! That hurts!” he cried.

“It’s supposed to, idiot!” Baekhyun snorted, withdrawing his hand and smacking Jongdae in the face. “Why don’t you go into your Avatar state and beat me up?” he cackled, white fire dancing along his arms as he placed his hands back on the chains, slowly raising the heat enough to hurt but not enough to cause any serious burns.

Jongdae screamed and writhed as he felt like he was being jabbed with hundreds of sharp needles.

“Well, little brother? Are you going to do anything? Turn into the avatar? Shock me with lightning?” Baekhyun taunted.

“I can’t! I’m not the Avatar anymore! Please just stop!” Jongdae sobbed. 

“Stop?! You want me to stop?!?!” Baek shoved a hand over the prince’s mouth to muffle his screams.

“Yes, I thinks that’s what he wants.” a new voice startled Baekhyun and he immediately stopped what he was doing, leaving Jongdae shaking in pain and gasping for air.

“And who are you?” he snarled.

The newcomer was dressed in all black, although he was clearly from the earth kingdom. Two swords drawn and a red mask covering his face.

“Doesn’t matter. Now hand over the Avatar.”

“Oh I don’t think so. He belongs to the fire nation. The Avatar came to us! So get out of here, Earth Kingdom scum.” Baekhyun laughed maniacally, fire appearing at his fingertips. The assassin didn’t react, only readied his swords. 

Jongdae wasn’t sure what happened after that, because he felt himself slowly blacking out. He hurt everywhere, and he felt a huge weight on his chest as even breathing became a struggle. His eyes slipped shut as the assassin sent Baekhyun sailing against the wall with a kick to the chest. 

After assuring himself that Baekhyun was well and truly out cold, the assassin ran over to Jongdae, strong metal of his blades slicing through the chains that bound him.

“Hey, please, stay with me.” he gently took Jongdae’s face in his hands, letting it drop again when he realized that he was already nearly unconscious. “Oh no. I have to get you to Yixing.” he mumbled, picking Jongdae up in his arms. 

Jongdae wanted to ask who Yixing was, or who the man carrying him was, but at this point, everything hurt too much, and the whole world faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story, the first EXO MV I ever watched was Monster and my friend and i both immediately biased Baekhyun for like a week before dropping him for Jongdae and Minseok (her UB) after watching EXO on Weekly Idol. I still love him though, always spilling the tea on EXO what a legend. Basically sorry for how awful he is in this but I needed someone to pick on.


	11. Northern Water Tribe

“Minseok, pacing isn’t going to help anything.” Kyungsoo commented as he sat on his throne watching the older Water Tribe General pace up and down in front of him.

“Kyungsoo, they might kill him! What if he dies!?” 

“Then the Avatar will be reborn.” came the reply.

“I’m not talking about the Avatar, I’m talking about Jongdae!” Minseok huffed, correcting him curtly.

“Well, that’s just what happens when you care about someone who’s the Avatar, isn’t it? They die and you have to move on and accept it. As the Avatar, they will never truly die, you know.” Kyungsoo sighed, standing up, “I liked Jongdae too, Minseok, and I have utmost confidence in Zitao, but if he is too late, you need to be prepared to move on.”

“That’s like asking me to move on from the death of my brother!” Minseok protested, turning suddenly to be met with Kyungsoo staring up at him. 

“Exactly, Minseok. Exactly.”

Minseok felt guilty instantly. Isn’t this what Kyungsoo had had to do? Move on from the death of his brother to find the new Avatar? Isn’t it what they all had to do? A shout startled him and he turned to see Zitao’s lanky figure, the mask now lifted, coming towards them with Jongdae in his arms.

“Jongdae!” Minseok instantly rushed to his side as the assassin laid him on the ground as carefully as possible. 

“He’s dying.” Kyungsoo announced after taking one glance at him. “You had better hurry and get him back to Yixing, Minseok.”

“There’s no way I can make it back there in time.” Minseok looked back at Jongdae’s unconscious form and his shallow breaths and the burn marks which covered his body.

A huge rush of wind howled through the courtroom, throwing open the doors as a streak of glittering red and gold streamed in. The three men gasped as a dragon alighted next to where Jongdae lay in Minseok’s arms, its scales shimmering in the sunlight, and tendrils of steam curling from its nose. It’s yellow eyes stared directly at Minseok and he felt himself in awe.

“You’re Jongdae’s animal guide, aren’t you?” he asked politely, inclining his head towards the animal, which replied with a low rumble from its chest. “Please help him, he’s dying.” he continued, pleadingly.

The dragon merely lowered its neck to the ground and Minseok stared blankly.

“It wants you to get on.” Zitao explained, lightly scratching its nose.  
“It does?”

“You’ll travel the fastest on its back.” Kyungsoo nodded, “Go save Jongdae. Go save the Avatar.”

“So uh....where were you this whole time?” Minseok was awkwardly sitting on the dragon’s back, trying to hold on for dead life as it flew, and hold on to Jongdae in a way that would cause him the least pain. 

The dragon itself (whether it was a he or a she Minseok didn’t know) radiated heat and he was slightly uncomfortable, but he was mostly worried about Jongdae. The boy’s usually tan skin was a deathly pale and it made the bruises and burns on his face even more prominent. Minseok was going to kill whoever had done this.

The dragon grumbled and Minseok sighed, wondering if it had understood him, or he was just imagining things to take his mind off of everything.

“Yeah yeah, show up once he’s dying. Nice move.” He muttered. He was nearly jerked out of his seat as the animal twisted in the middle of the air and hie blinked a few times in shock. He decided not to say anything about the dragon’s inexplicable timing for fear or being eaten. 

 

Junmyeon stood on the wall surrounding the city, feeling the flow of the water and the movement of the waves. He stared straight out at the horizon, eyes fixed on a very exact spot, unmoving, rigid as the ice on which he was balanced. It always worried Yixing when he got like this. Junmyeon was powerful and had a famously strong connection with the moon spirit. Some people said he had the gift of prophecy. But even so, moon connection or not, junmyeon had to eat, and Yixing was frustrated with his friend’s stubbornness. 

“Junmyeon....what do you see?” he asked in a low voice.

“The connection, it’s been broken.” 

Yes. Very helpful, Junmyeon. Yixing groaned inwardly. However, the prince was his friend, and he was clearly troubled, and so Yixing decided to press it.

“The Avatar connection? Why?”

“I don’t know, and it worries me. I told Minseok. I told him to protect the Avatar, I....” 

“Junnie, calm down.” Yixing put a gloved hand on the other’s arm.

“Yixing, listen.” Junmyeon cut him off in a hushed whisper. “Do you hear that?”

“Uh no? I—DRAGON!” Yixing shoved the prince to the ground as it flew low over them, only to land directly in front of the two men. 

The guards came running but before they could do anything two voices cried out

“STOP!” 

Junmyeon stood up and dusted himself off, waiting expectantly as Minseok slowly got off and made his way towards them.

“Is that him?” Junmyeon’s eyes widened and he rushed over with a gasp. “Minseok, what happened?!” He knelt down beside Jongdae and looked him over.

“The fire nation got him...I couldn’t....he gave himself up for me.” Was all Minseok could say.

“Let me see him.” Yixing commanded, and the two stepped aside as the water tribe healer placed his hands on Jongdae’s chest. “He doesn’t have much time left. Minseok, bring him and follow me please.” 

The dragon padded along behind them, and the guards let them pass, shooting each other looks that we’re cut short by Junmyeon’s disapproving scowl.

Minseok had never been to the Spirit Oasis. He knew it existed, Junmyeon went there all the time, but he wasn’t imagining this. It was weirdly warm, and there was grass and flowers and in the middle was a small pool. He didn’t have time to gawk, however, because Yixing motioned him over. 

“Put him down.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Minseok saw Junmyeon scolding the dragon for trying to eat one of the flowers, and he almost laughed, but he was far too focused on Jongdae. He sat on his knees in the grass and watched as Yixing drew some of the water out of the pool and laid it like a blanket over Jongdae, before placing his hands on him and closing his eyes. Minseok watched in awe as the burns and bruises began to fade before his eyes as the water glowed with Yixing’s power. Jongdae moved a bit and groaned, Yixing quickly pulling the water off of him and back into the pond. 

“Jongdae!” Minseok leaned over him, “Jongdae are you alright?”

“Good lord Minseok give the boy some space! He’s still recovering. My healing isn’t all powerful.” Yixing laughed a bit at Minseok’s eagerness. 

“Mmm. Min...Minseokie?” Jongdae’s eyes fluttered open and he stared up at the older.

“Jongdae! Jongdae I’m so sorry, I wanted to come after you, I was so worried and—“

“Are you hurt? They hit you in the head.” Jongdae ignored his panic and smiled. “Where am I?? It feels nice here.”

He sat up, examining his arms. 

“Oh, how long have I been asleep? Was I—YEEK!” Jongdae caught sight of the dragon and nearly fell backwards into the pond as it loped over to him, chortling happily. “Ah! Oh! Oof! Hey hey! Stop that! Hi.” He giggled as it snuffled his face and promptly landed on top of him. 

“Oh no, you’re crushing me....what’s your name? I’m jongdae.” He pushes a bit at the large beast. It roared softly. “Chen? Ok, can you please get off my leg?” 

Junmyeon looked over at Minseok who was watching Jongdae with utmost fondness as he talked to the dragon. 

“Prince Jongdae,” Junmyeon approach and Jongdae immediately stood up, afraid of another unwelcome reception, knowing that this time there would be no Jonghyun to help him. Instead, he saw nothing but kindness in the man’s ice blue eyes. “Welcome Avatar.”

Jongdae shook his head and lowered his eyes. 

“Don’t call me that. I’m not the Avatar anymore.” 

“Why? Why did you break the connection, Jongdae?” 

It wasn’t asked as a threat but just hearing it made Jongdae want to curl in on himself and cry.

“I’m sorry! I just...I knew that if I was tortured, i wouldn’t be able to control the Avatar, and that’s exactly what the firelord wanted, he wanted me to go into the avatar state and I couldn’t let him do that, so I broke the connection before they could get to me....I didn’t know what else to do. I’m so useless now...”

He was cut off by Junmyeon taking his face in his hands and leaning down, his white hair sparkling in the moonlight like fresh snow as he looked deep into Jongdae’s eyes. 

“Hear me, Avatar Jongdae. No one is ever useless. The Avatar has chosen you, and you are still the Avatar, I feel it within you, and so does Chen.”

Jongdae was pretty sure he was actually talking to the moon itself and not Junmyeon. He just nodded slowly, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill over. 

“Junmyeon, stop being weird! You’re freaking him out. He needs to rest, not be given inspirational speeches.” Yixing interrupted, “come on, young man, you’re going to bed.” 

“B—bed? But I’m not....I’m not tired?” Jongdae protested, a bit shocked still.

“Is that so?” Yixing raised an eyebrow, and pressed his fingers to a spot in Jongdae’s neck, making him instantly drop to the ground. “Now you are.”

He scooped Jongdae up and carried him off, mumbling something about “kids these days” making Chen perk up and trot after them.

“Don’t worry, Minseok. Yixing will take good care of him.” He laughed a bit, “he’s managed me all this time.”

“I trust him.” The general shrugged.

“Whats he like? Jongdae? You seem very attached to him.” Junmyeon pressed as they made their way back to the palace, leaving Yixing to his own devices.

“He’s...unique.” Minseok tried to search for words to describe the boy that would do him justice. “He’s nothing like anyone else in fire nation. He’s kind, always in a good mood, forgiving, compassionate, everything the fire nation isn’t.”

“The Avatar always chooses well.” Junmyeon nodded, twirling the braid on the side of his head absentmindedly. “I suppose you want to go back to your brothers now.”

“If you please.”

“Very well. You’ll be by tomorrow to see Jongdae? We need to find a way to restore the connection, and I think I have just the person.” Junmyeon smiled and minseok bowed and bid him farewell. 

 

“Jongdae!” a voice called. “Jongdae!”

He opened his eyes to find he was lying on his back in a cage.

“Yah!” he sat up with a start, grabbing the bars and shaking them.

A shadow in the far corner stood, walking towards him. He backed away until his back his bars, the figure stepping into the light.

“J—Jonghyun?” 

The previous Avatar looked at him sadly as Jongdae reached for him, only to find his hand pass directly through him.

He heard his name being whispered all around him louder and louder, until he fell tot he ground and covered his ears.

“Stop please!”

“It’s all your fault.” Baekhyun hissed in his ear.

 

He lurched forward in bed with a yell, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms.

“Hey, hey, its alright.” 

It didn’t sound like Minseok, but it was comforting and Jongdae let himself relax in their hold. They sat like that for a while, until the whispering went away.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Jongdae smiled. 

“I’m glad. My name is Yixing. I was worried about you for a while.”

“Are you a water bender healer?” Jongdae asked.

“Yes. I am.” 

“That’s amazing! I’ve never met a water tribe healer before!” Jongdae reached out to touch his hands lightly and Yixing smiled at his enthusiasm.

“I would imagine not.” he chuckled.

“Oh. Right, yeah.” there was a fleeting sadness in his face before he looked over at Chen, who was trying to get his long tongue unstuck from an ice pillar.

“I’m sorry, Jongdae. I didn’t mean it that way.” Yixing apologized quickly.

Jongdae waved it off lightly.

“So, Prince Jongdae, are you hungry?” 

Somehow, Yixing calling him a Prince made Jongdae feel a bit special. Whenever Chanyeol or Baekhyun called him that it was always with a sneer, but Yixing said it with kindness and respect.

“I’m pretty hungry, yes please.”

“Minseok should be by soon. Maybe he’ll bring his brothers along to meet you.” Yixing ruffled Jongdae’s hair before he realized what he was doing. “Sorry.”

“Chanyeolie used to do that. A long time ago.” Jongdae’s eyes grew far away. “Now he hates me. He tried to kill me. Just like everyone else.” 

“Do you still care about him?” Yixing elected to ignore Jongdae’s last comment and stood up, extending a hand out. 

“I can’t hate him. I don’t know, I can’t hate anyone. I hate myself for it, its never gotten me anywhere, because other people seem to be able to hate me just fine.” Jongdae mumbled.

“Wait wait, I thought you said you couldn’t hate anyone. So how can you hate yourself?” Yixing stopped him in the hall.  
“Because I’m not other people, Yixing. I can always give them the benefit of the doubt, but never myself. “

“Why not? You do it so well with other people. I know you want to be kind to everyone, but you’re someone. Alright? Promise me you’re going to be kinder to yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll try, Yixing.”

“Good. Now lets go get something to eat.”

 

Chanyeol had done his best to stay low, he changed his clothes and cut his hair. Was this what Jongdae had had to go through? Jongdae….he didn’t like thinking about his brother for too long, or else the guilt caught up with him. He was probably in horrible pain right now, and it was all Chanyeol’s fault. He hadn’t really had a plan when he first fled the palace…maybe that was a mistake. Maybe he should just go back. No. He wasn’t going back. But Jongdae…

His mind tugged him this way and that, until finally he collapsed in frustration beside a tree and put his head in his hands. Being a good person was so complicated.

 

“You incompetent moron!” Baekhyun winced as the queen’s shrill shriek pierced his ears, echoing through the prison halls. His head was throbbing and the last thing he needed was her high pitched screaming. “You, the best fire bender in the nation, were defeated by an assassin?! Not even a bender?! Just some regular average assassin!?”

“It’s not like that, mother, I was surprised.” he explained through gritted teeth.

“Surprised?! You’re as bad as Chanyeol. Making up excuses! I know what happened, Baekhyun, you can’t pretend. You were having too much fun and failed to pay attention. As usual. You’ve been such a disappointment recently.” she cut him off with a scoff.

The words stung and he felt anger boiling up within him like molten lava. 

“Well maybe if you weren’t such a coward you could have done it yourself and this would have never happened!” he hissed before he could stop himself. “I know what you’re afraid of. You’re afraid of Jongdae and his pathetic little face that makes you crack every time! I bet you’re secretly glad this happened! I bet you LET this happen! Me? Pathetic?! You can’t even face your own son! He knows you’re a two headed snake, yet still you pretend!” Baekhyun was practically foaming at the mouth, his whole body radiating heat in waves, causing the room temperature to rise with each passing minute. Except it wasn’t foam, it was fire. White flames that he spat out at her feet at ever breath. “I’m going to go tell uncle that it was you who knocked me out! I’ll tell him it was you who wants Jongdae alive so he can kill him and take the throne! I’LL KILL YOU!” 

And with that, he shoved past his hysterical mother and disappeared up the stairs, climbing two at a time, white flames licking up his arms, wild laughter lingering long after he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day because I’m going to WINNER’s concert on the 20th and I probably won’t have time to update between now and then.


	12. The Spirit World

“Is Jongdae awake?” Minseok took Yixing aside the next morning, followed by his three younger brothers.

“He’s eating, but you can go in and see him. He’s doing much better, but make sure he doesn’t get too excited.” the healer replied, opening the door and showing them in.

It was so quiet. He could faintly hear the water lapping outside, and he pulled the coat Yixing had given him tighter. He was definitely not made for cold, he thought as he clung to a cup of steaming tea. The silence was bothering him. All his life he had heard people talking to him and now his mind was still. And he hated it. He pulled his knees up to his chest. Suddenly something very big and very warm plunked down behind him, making the ice shudder, and something smokey and tingly snuffled at his ear.

“Hi Chen.” Jongdae smiled faintly. “So, I have to ask, are you a boy dragon or a girl dragon? Jonghyun told me but I’ve forgotten.”

He wasn’t sure how he could still understand his animal guide. After all, he wasn’t the Avatar anymore, and he didn’t know why Chen was staying with him in the first place. But somehow, he was able to decipher his companions snorts hisses and grunts.

“Oh! You’re a lady! I’m sorry, I’ve never seen a dragon before so.”

“What? Uh, no but I’m cold. Want some food? Here—“

“Are you talking to that dragon?” Minseok’s chuckle startled him and he jumped, the pastry flying out of his hand. Chen immediately got up to chase after it as it rolled across the room and someone screamed.

“Minseok!” Jongdae leaped up and threw himself at the general. “I’ve been so lonely its so quiet I’m so glad you’re here and—wait who screamed?” it clicked in his mid and he stopped short to see three boys around his age in the doorway.

“You can come in you three, it doesn’t bite.” Minseok laughed at their faces as they hovered, unsure.

“She.” Jongdae corrected.

“What about him? Does he bite?” the middle one asked.

“Chenle! Jongdae doesn’t bite.” Minseok scolded as they shuffled forward, herded by the tallest one.

“Wow, I never thought I would get to meet the Avatar. Minseokie told me about how cool you are!” the youngest one started, breaking the tension by smothering Jongdae with a hug and squeezing far too hard. 

“I’m not—“

“I’m training to be a water bender, but it would be way cooler if I could train under you! Then I could tell all my friends that I was trained by the Avatar! It would also be cool to be trained by Prince Junnie, but he’s weird, you seem normal. Oh! And I—“

“Yah! Shuyang! You’ll talk his ear off.” an older boy pulled his brother off of Jongdae, who could then breathe again.

“Sorry about him, but be flattered, it means he likes you. I’m Minhyung, by the way. I already know you’re Prince Jongdae.” 

“Hey Minhyung.” Jongdae felt a grin spreading across his face.

“Minseok says we don’t have a lot of time before Jongin comes, so we can’t stay for very long. But we all really wanted to meet you!. This is Chenle, by the way, the actually good waterbender—“

“HEY!”

“Say hi Chenle.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry about him.” Minhyung apologized. “He’s kinda weary since he heard you were fire nation—“

“Minhyung!” Minseok scolded in exasperation as he saw Jongdae’s smile falter. “Watch your big mouth!”

“Sorry Minseok.”

“Don’t apologize to me, you thick idiot! Jongdae.”

“Sorry Jongdae.” 

“Its okay, I’ve had a lot worse.” Jongdae smiled, thinking about Kyungsoo’s small form charging towards him. He thought he heard faint laughter, but it must just have been coming from outside.

Minhyung looked questioningly at Minseok who shook his head.

“Hey. Is this yours? I’ve never seen a real dragon before!” Shuyang was scratching Chen’s nose. She seemed to be enjoying it, so Minseok decided to let him pet her.

“Yeah, she’s mine.” Jongdae stood up and walked over to where the two were.

“Pardon,” everyone looked up to see Junmyeon in the doorway standing awkwardly. “But Jongin is here.”

“Your majesty.” the three boys immediately bowed.

“Hi Prince Junmyeon. Thank you for letting me stay here.” Jongdae began.

“It’s no problem. Anything for an old friend.” the Water Tribe prince smiled.

“Wow, Jonghyun really knew a lot of people, didn’t he?” 

“Speaking of. This is Jongin. He’s from the Air Nomads and he’s got an incredible connection to the spirit realm. I thought perhaps he could help you with…” the older began, pulling a shy looking boy out from behind him.

“I’m sorry, prince Junmyeon, but I’m afraid I really did break the Avatar connection.” Jongdae shook his head sadly as Minseok and his brothers quietly left the room.

“Actually, that’s not true.” Jongin piped up. “First of all,” he took Jongdae by the hand and began to drag him off in the direction of the spirit oasis, “Chen is here, meaning the Avatar spirit is somehow still present within you to guide her to you. And secondly, don’t be ridiculous, I can practically feel the Avatar, you just blocked them out for a bit. It’s alright, I’m sure they can get annoying. I’m Jongin, by the way.” the boy finally stopped talking and stuck out his hand.

He pushed Jongdae so he was sitting down in front of the pool and the fire nation prince blinked up at him, slightly bewildered. Jongin was young, maybe his age, with light brown hair and thin clothes. Jongdae didn’t know how he wasn’t freezing. He’d been wrong about the Air nomad being shy, because Jongin definitely wasn’t shy. He plunked right down next to Jongdae and took his palm in his hand, breathing deeply.

“Okay, so in order to reestablish your connection, you have to enter the spirit world. It can be kinda scary at first, but don’t worry, I’ll be there with you.” he looked at him encouragingly.

“You’ve..you’ve been to the spirit world?” Jongdae just gaped at him.  
“Pssh yeah, I go all the time. I think the spirits are sick of me…” he paused and chuckled, leaning forward, “I’ve annoyed the ancient forest spirit, so I can’t go in the woods without something happening.”

“U-uh. Alright…?” Jongdae honestly wasn’t sure what to think.

“I’m sorry, I’m making you uncomfortable. You’re scared I can feel it. But don’t worry, Avatar Jongdae, in the spirit world, they see you for who you really are. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, you can finally see the Avatars! I know you’ve “seen” them before but like this isn’t the same. It’s like the real deal.” He took Jongdae by the shoulders. “Just relax. Breathe deeply and close your eyes.”

Jongdae did as he was told. He felt Jongin press fingers to the sides of his temples and there was a ringing, then a light. 

“You can open your eyes now Jongdae.” a voice came beside him.

The spirit world wasn’t nearly as nice as Jongdae had imagined it. It was in various boring shades of brown, in a weird jungle, and was giving him a headache. 

“Ah.” he held his head as it felt like something was pulling him.

“Oh! You feel it already? Perfect! Which way do you feel pulled?” Jongin encouraged, acting as if they weren’t having an out of body experience in another plane of existence.

“Ow…I don’t know….that way I guess.” Jongdae pointed lamely in the direction.

“Nice! Lets go!” 

As Jongin dragged Jongdae along, the scenery began to change with each step. The brown of the forest receded into a green, grass and flowers springing up around their steps. The place seemed vaguely familiar to Jongdae, but he wasn’t sure if he had been there before or if it was a memory from one of his past lives. 

“Wait, Jongin, I think I recognize this place!” he commented suddenly, making the other turn to look at him. “Prince Kyungsoo took me here when I visited the earth kingdom! It’s the palace gardens! But how can we be—“

He was so busy gaping around in awe that he didn’t notice as he smacked directly into someone’s chest and he leaped backward with a yelp.

“Here? The spirit world takes the form of where you felt most connected to it on earth.” 

He followed the voice and looked up directly into Jonghyun’s glowing eyes.

“Hello Jongdae. Its good to be with you again.”

“Uh…J-Jonghyun! I—it was…I didn’t want…It was an accident.” Jongdae stammered out awkwardly, backing up a bit only to be pushed forward again by Jongin.

“I know. We understand.” the Avatar replied. “You never broke the link completely. You nearly did, but…I held on to you.” 

Jonghyun took Jongdae’s hands in his, Jongdae’s eyes now glowing as well.

“You need to believe in yourself Jongdae. Put your faith in the Avatar. I died because I believed in it. And you should too. We are always with you.”

“Perfect!” Jongin interrupted, clapping his hands together. “I told you the connection wasn’t broken!”

Jonghyun vanished and Jongdae sighed. 

“Alright, how do we get back into our bodies? Do we… jump into them or something?”

“Wow, for being the Avatar, you really don’t know that much about the spirit world, do you?” Jongin giggled.

“It’s not my fault! I’m not really in contact with the others as much as Jonghyun! Jiyong talks to me sometimes, and Yifan just shows up when he wants to kill people. He’s….kinda violent. I mean are airbenders usually violent?” Jongdae protested.

“Well…I guess they could be. I don’t know, I’m not an airbender. I just have a really strong connection with the spirit world. Plus, air benders are always monks and I do NOT want to shave my head.” Jongin made a face.

That made the fire bender laugh.

“Ok mr. spirit world guru, how do we get back?”

“This way. We have to go through a portal to get back to the regular world, and then we can get back into our bodies.” Jongin explained. “The best part is, we can go anywhere we want in spirit form in the real world and we won’t be seen!” the air nomad chuckled and nudged Jongdae’s arm.

“Wait! We can go anywhere we want and not be seen?” 

“Yeah…but hang on, you’re not thinking of doing anything weird are you?” the other suddenly became concerned and halted abruptly.

“No…I just—“ Jongdae rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I just wanted to go check on my brother. He never listens to me when I’m right in front of him, so maybe if I’m invisible…”

Jongin was quiet for a moment, then his eyes brightened. 

“Why not? Listen, when you want to go back into your body, you just have to jump into it. Like you’re jumping into a pool! Errr…if you fire nation people ever swim….how about a bath?”

“I get it.” Jongdae smiled. “Thank you, Jongin.”

“Noooooo problem Avatar!”

And with that, Jongin disappeared through the doorway. Jongdae followed, watching the other’s spirit vanish into his body. His own body still sat by the water motionless and he saw Minseok stop by and put a blanket over his shoulders.

“You’re always cold, kid. Even if you can’t feel it right now.”

“Thanks Min—oh yeah you can’t hear me, can you.” Jongdae started to thank him, but remembered Jongin had said that no one could hear him. “Right. Time to find Yeolie.”

Jongdae found he could move very fast without his body, and being in spirit form made things different. It was almost as if he teleported to the palace, while seeing everything in between. He ran through the halls, all the way back to Chanyeol’s room, only to find him not there. The door was locked from the outside as well, although it wasn’t a problem for Jongdae.

 

“Your oldest son has been missing since last night, your majesty. Some of the guards saw him leave, but…”

“Where are these guards?” Jongdae heard his father’s voice and cringed, feeling sorry for whoever the guards were.

They were brought in a few moments later, shaking and unable to look up. He didn’t blame them. They were probably going to die.

“You let my son leave and did nothing?!” he snarled at them.

“We—we thought he was just going on a walk!” the braver one stammered.

“On a walk!? Since when has Chanyeol ever gone on a walk! He’s run away you idiots!” the flames crackled higher as his father’s anger climbed.

“Kill them.”

Jongdae turned away, but before anything could happen, the doors were flung open and the guards were consumed in a ball of white fire. He followed the source and gasped. In the doorway stood Baekhyun, breathing out flames with every breath, eyes burning with rage and insanity.

“Uncle.” he coughed, the fire in his mouth extinguishing to smoke, tendrils curling up around his face and he ran a hand back through his hair, returning the stray pieces to his bun. “Mother is crazy. She let Jongdae get away. She wants him to live! Chanyeol is gone, isn’t he? They’re working together! They’ll never let Jongdae die! Let me go. I’ll kill them, I’ll kill all three of them!” he laughed and took a deep breath before adding, “Please.”

Jongdae had seen enough. Chanyeol was gone, and he had to find him, in his body, and warn him. Baekkhyun was coming to kill him.

 

The firelord was silent for a moment and Baekhyun waited, glaring up at him on the throne. He always hated the boy, probably as much as Bakehyun hated him. It was a constant reminder Hyojeon didn’t really love him, only married him for the power. That, and the fact that it irritated him knowing Baekhyun was more powerful, ruthless and brutal than Chanyeol or Jongdae would ever be; and he wasn’t even his son. However, he was secure in the fact that Baekhyun would never be firelord. He was an unstable wreck, and he would burn himself out before he ever became a problem to the firelord. He would serve his purpose, and self-destruct.

“Very well.” he inclined his head, “Kill them all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! Winner was absolutely amazing UGH I wish I could afford every kpop concert.


	13. Junmyeon

“Jongdae, I know you’re worried about your brother, but you’re not going to be able to help him until you master water. Then you’ll just have air before you’ll be a able to go back and um…ouch defeat the firelord sounds rough when its your father.” Yixing was stirring something in a pot as Jongdae pouted in a corner, back in his body.

“That’s another thing!” Jongdae groaned, “I’m not supposed to go into my Avatar state because Jonghyun said it makes me vulnerable, but I don’t think I have it in me to kill my father, even if he is an evil tyrant!”

“Jongdae,” Yixing put his spoon down and turned to face the younger, “worrying isn’t going to get you anywhere. You have two more elements to master, for now, just focus on that. You can worry about all those other things later. I’m sure when the time comes you’ll know what to do.”

Yixing smiled kindly and Jongdae felt somewhat reassured. Jongin had told him that he could return to the spirit world whenever he wanted and search for Chanyeol, and even thought Jongdae wasn’t totally comfortable flitting in and out of his body, he needed to find his brother and warn him about Baekhyun.

“Is the Avatar busy?” a voice at the door made both of them jump suddenly, only to see Junmyeon. “The moon is rising, now is the perfect time to learn water bending.”

“Okay!” Jongdae jumped up and grabbed his coat, eager to begin. 

Yixing, however, frowned and pulled Junmyeon aside.

“Are you sure, Junmyeon? Firebenders are at their weakest when the moon is full. He might hurt himself.”

“I know that, but he’s also the Avatar. And we’re not fire bending, we’re water bending. He will be fine, trust me.” Junmyeon gave an enigmatic smile that Yixing found somewhat irritating and endearing at the same time, before following Jongdae out the door.

 

“Water bending will be the most difficult for you to master, since water and fire are so opposed to each other.” Junmyeon began as they stood in the middle of the ice courtyard, with pools of running water all around them.

“The most important thing to remember is that fire and water are like sun and moon, opposite, but connected. When the sun sets, the moon rises, when the moon sets the sun rises, they are not so different after all. You cannot have a coin without a front and a back. So though it will be difficult, once you master water bending, it will be one of your most powerful abilities, equal to your fire bending.”

Jongdae blinked at him expectantly.

“Now, you know fire bending comes from the breath, but water bending is about shaping and molding with your hands, so hand motions are very important. It’s like pulling delicate strings. We’ll start simple. The most basic movement is a push and a pull, exactly like the moon’s effect on the tides. Like this.” 

Junmyeon turned to one of the pools of water and demonstrated, causing a small concentrated wave. Jongdae watched the older Prince’s fluid movements in awe.

“Here you try.”

“Uh, alright.” Jongdae closed his eyes.

“You’re trying too hard. You’re the Avatar, Jongdae, let yourself be it.” Junmyeon shook his head, smiling slightly. “See?” he encouraged as Jongdae began to make a wave much larger than his. “You’re better than you think.”

“I have water bended before.” Jongdae admitted quietly. “Just a little, a long time ago. I used to prank my brother.”

Chanyeol’s shriek of surprise as cold water slipped down his back echoed in his mind and the thought made him more determined to master water as quickly as possible. 

“Alright, whenever you think I’m ready, we can move on.”

“This move is more complex but its a basic offense technique. It will be variations of this one move that will be the core of offensive water bending. Isolating a thin ribbon of water to use as a weapon. Watch.” 

Junmyeon drew up a long and graceful ribbon of water, and snapped it like a whip in the air. That looked fun, so Jongdae copied him, twisting the ribbon into various curls and loops with his fingers, like Junmyeon taught him.

“Your majesty?” a messenger’s voice startled them and Jongdae balled up his water and held it in front of him, fascinated with his new found ability, until Junmyeon finished and they could continue the lesson.

“Yes?”

“Sooyeon and the rest of the spies have returned.”

“Send her in please, I wish to speak with her.” Junmyeon requested, before turning back to Jongdae. “She owes you an apology.”

“I understand why she was angry, though.” Jongdae formed the sign of the fire nation absentmindedly with the water. “Everything was taken from her.”

“I’m glad you empathize, but an apology is still necessary.”

 

Sooyeon was nervous. Prince Junmyeon wanted to see her? That was either a really good thing or a really bad thing. He was on the training grounds, so she hurried there quickly, Minseok would have to wait. Turning the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks. Jongdae was there with Junmyeon, the two of them manipulating their water in perfect sync to create a swirling circle that rose and fell like the waves of the ocean. 

“Sooyeon.” Junmyeon looked up, replacing the water back into the pool.  
She swallowed. He didn’t look happy.

“You called for me, your majesty?”

“Yes. I did. Minseok tells me you were the one who had the idea to split up. Why? You know it’s dangerous that way.”

Sooyeon huffed. She knew what Junmyeon was about.

“Then he also must have told you the reason, your majesty.”

“He did.” Junmyeon replied calmly, “But I want to hear it from you, so that you can hear how ridiculous you sound.”

“I…” she hesitated, looking over towards Jongdae who was standing there awkwardly, now bundled up in water tribe clothing, just as he had been when she first met him. He wasn’t a bad kid, hell, she’d even say he was a nice kid. But some part of her didn’t want to move past his nationality.

“I don’t know who is the bigger person, you or your bigotry, Sooyeon.” Junmyeon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. “Clearly not you. I was hoping you would have had a change of heart.”

“Prince Junmyeon—“

“Leave. Come back when you have bettered yourself.”

Sooyeon had never seen Junmyeon act like this. He was usually the kindest and most calm individual. And yet beneath the calm, his disappointment pierced through her like a knife. She turned and practically ran from the practice hall.

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae wrung his hands in distress, “Why did you say that? She’s just going to hate me even more! You made her so uncomfortable.”

“Jongdae, I admire your kindness, but I believe it is misplaced. Understand that true kindness does not always mean being civil and liked by all. It is keeping the individual’s best interests in mind, and it is in their best interests to point out the flaws. I don’t mean yell at them, but bringing a fault to their attention is never unkind. It shows you care.” Junmyeon sat down on the stairs, patting the space next to him for Jongdae to join.

“I think I understand. No one ever did that for me, does that mean they never cared?” Jongdae paused, then continued almost immediately, “Of course not. They wanted to kill me, and then they wanted to use me. I wish…I don’t know. I guess I wish I wasn’t the Avatar sometimes. No offense guys.” he added apologetically.

“I never wanted to be a king. I wanted nothing more than to spend my days traveling everywhere; visit our sister tribe in the south, they have a different form of water bending that I would love to learn.” Junmyeon’s eyes grew far away and he gazed up at the moon, “But more importantly, and this I think is your regret, I wanted to be free. Free of responsibility. People’s lives are in our hands, its a huge task, you have a right to be afraid. Treat it with respect, but do not be afraid, Jongdae.”

“I’m not afraid anymore, Junmyeon.” Jongdae smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He felt confident, the most he had in years. “Not anymore.”

 

Chanyeol felt dizzy. And like he was on fire…more so than usual. He didn’t know where he was, or what day. The world faded in and out, and everything was fuzzy, not to mention that his head was pounding. It would probably be better, he decided, if he sat down, so he did; more like collapsed against a rock. He deserved this, he knew it. It was payback for exactly how he had treated Jongdae: shoved him off on his own, only to drag him back to be tortured by Baekhyun. He shut his eyes and groaned just thinking about his younger brother. What he was going through now was probably nothing compared to what Jongdae was enduring. Chanyeol hated himself for it. Maybe he could just die out here and be done with it.

He must have passed out because the next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes in a well lit room. At first he thought he was dreaming, he half expected to roll over and see Jongdae sprawled out next to him, hogging all the covers. The next thought that ran through his mind was one of mild panic. Had he been found again?! He didn’t want to go back!! Chanyeol tried to sit up, but was stopped by something tugging on his wrist, preventing him from moving. Immediately, he felt something cold pressed against his neck.

“Move another inch, firebender, and I’ll slit your throat. Sick or not. You’re ONLY alive because of Jongdae. He begged me not to kill you, although I was very tempted.” the speaker was a short dark haired man in royal Earth Kingdom clothes. 

That would most likely be Prince Kyungsoo. He was in the Earth Kingdom? A knock on the door made him start a little. It was suddenly hitting him how awful he felt. He was sweating and feverish, and lightheaded; unable to fight even if he wanted to. A figure slipped into the room, closing the door behind them and skipping lightly over to the bed. Kyungsoo stepped away, allowing them closer.

“Thank you, Kyungsoo. This means so much to me.” Jongdae hugged the prince tightly.

“I can’t tell you how much I wanted to kill him where he lay for everything he’s done to you, Jongdae. But I swore to do anything you asked of me.” he glanced back at Chanyeol, “I don’t think he’s strong enough to do anything, and I’m not doubting your abilities, but just in case, I’ll be nearby.”

Jongdae nodded before turning to Chanyeol as Kyungsoo left the room. 

“Chanyeolie.” Jongdae whispered gently, kneeling by the bedside.

“Jongdae— I’m….I’m sorry. I’m so sorry….” he choked out.

Jongdae didn’t speak, but slowly moved to unbind Chanyeol. Once his wrists were free and he could move again, he turned on his side to look at his brother. 

“Jongdae…” he began again, but Jongdae cut him off, pressing a damp cloth to his forehead.

“Shh. I forgive you, Chanyeol.” 

“No, Jongdae,” he weakly tried to push his brother’s hand away, shaking his head, “Stop. I don’t…you can’t.”

“Chanyeol, just let me take care of you.” Jongdae had a slight mischievous smile on his lips. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll call Kyungsoo back in here, and you don’t want me to do that….”

“No! No..” Chanyeol’s eyes widened and he broke off coughing, causing Jongdae to fuss over him some more.

“Thought not.”

There was silence between the two for a while as Jongdae sat quietly by Chanyeol’s bedside, legs tucked under his knees, hands folded in his lap, staring at him intently.

“What happened Chanyeol? How did you get here?”

“I…I ran away.” the older spoke after a pause.

“Why?”

“Because…I couldn’t…when you stood up to father, you were so willing to die for what you believed in. I realized that I’d been such a coward, I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed. So I ran.” He took a shaky breath, “But even then I was a coward. I left you. I left you with Baekhyun, he could have killed you….Jongdae—“

“Do I look dead to you, Yeolie?” the younger chuckled softly, then grew serious. “I would have, if Zitao and Yixing hadn’t saved me. I don’t really remember a lot of what happened, to be honest. Buuuut,” he continued, seeing Chanyeol looking even more distressed, “I got a pet dragon! She’s really cool. Oh, and I can water bend. And earth bend. And I got friends now! You can meet them all! And I—“

“Jongdae,” Chanyeol coughed again, blinking in disbelief, “How are you like this? How can you be so good? I tried to kill you, I chained you up for days, I brought you back home only to have you be tortured, I deserve to be incinerated on the spot. And you…you still act the same way you always have.”

Jongdae smiled and closed his eyes.

“Because, Chanyeol, think about it. What would I accomplish by killing you?” he looked pointedly at his brother, “Nothing. The world would be no better, no worse, I would have your blood on my hands, and you would never have another chance. That isn’t an accomplishment; it doesn’t make me a better person. It’s not about what you deserve, its about what you need. If you got what you deserved, Yeolie, you would have been killed a long time ago. I’m sorry but its the truth.”

“Fair.”

“But now you have another chance. So when you’re better, we’ll start over. But you have to promise me Chanyeolie, that you will be better from now on. If that’s what you want.” Jongdae’s eyes grew a bit stern for a minute and Chanyeol felt like they would pierce through him. Those were the same eyes from the hallway, when he looked up at the golden statue of Jiyong. But this time, he didn’t look away. He held their gaze and nodded.

“I promise, Jongdae.”

With that, Jongdae flung himself forward and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol, practically suffocating him.

“I missed you.” he whispered in his ear and the older prince froze. He remembered those words Jongdae had said to him on the ship, before he slammed the door in his face and left him. Had he believed in Chanyeol all along?


	14. Air Benders

“So how’s your brother, Jongdae?” Jongin asked, as the two sat crosslegged out in the courtyard, eating lunch.

“He’s feeling much better, I think. I always believed in him. Chanyeol wasn’t a bad person, not like Baekhyun.” Jongdae frowned a bit as a breeze rustled through the trees. “But you must understand, Baekhyun I think is crazy.”

“Really?” Jongin had his mouth full, cheeks fat as a chipmunk’s and his eyes widened.

“Yeah. He…I think his power and mother drove him crazy. Mother was hard on him, I think. I don’t blame him, I’m sorry for him.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you think that way. You’re really special, Jongdae. You forgive everyone so easily.” the air nomad grinned. “I’m so happy I’m friends with the Avatar. Jonghyun is really nice too.”

“Wait how do you…oh right.” Jongdae tapped the side of his head. “Spirit world. Hey, have you met any of the other Avatars? What about Yifan? Or Jiyong?”

“Jiyong is kinda scary. Yifan is nice. We’ve talked a lot about the Air Nomads. He was champion at Airball! We should play sometime at the temple once you learn air bending. It will be so much fun!” Jongin jumped up and clapped his hands.

“Air ball huh? That sounds like fun!” Jongdae got excited too. “Hey, wanna go scare some townspeople with Chen?”

“Yes!!! We should invite Zitao too. He’s been in the training room all day doing assassin things. He needs to have fun.”

“I agree. I’ll get him. You go to Chen.” Jongdae offered, heading off to find the older boy. 

He found him, like Jongin had said, in the training room, throwing knives at a dummy in a fire nation helmet. Jongdae winced as one sailed right through the center of the “forehead” with a thunk.

“Uh, are you busy?” He lingered by the door.

“Hm?” Zitao turned suddenly, relaxing when he saw Jongdae. “Oh, Jongdae, it’s just you. How have you been?” He set the rest of his knives down and padded over to the fire Nation Prince.

“I’ve been good. What about you? You’re always in here all day, you should come out with Jongin and I. We’re going now, take a Chen for a ride, freak out the townspeople. She likes you.” Jongdae hinted.

“Um...I don’t know...” Zitao looked doubtful, glancing back at Jongdae. That was a mistake, because he couldn’t resist the younger’s puppy eyes. He sighed heavily. “Alright, fine.”

“Yay!” Jongdae tugged the reluctant assassin gleefully out the door. 

Jongdae and Zitao went off in search of Chen, who was chewing on a tree over at the edge of the nearby forrest.

“Hi Zitao! He convinced you to come!” Jongin smiled broadly.

“I can’t say no to him.” Zitao shrugged a bit sullenly.

“Well, lets go!” Jongdae was eager to get going. 

Scrambling on, the three boys were just about to take off when there was an enormous wind that nearly sent them flying off.

“Yikes!! What on earth was that?!” Jongin clung tightly to Chen, who curled herself protectively around the three.

“I dunno.” Jongdae held his hand up to stop Zitao, peeking over the top of her golden red scales to look around. 

In the clearing were two men in orange and yellow, with wooden beaded necklaces around their necks. They were both thin with sharp noses and staffs in their hands.

“Wow! They’re air benders! Pretty powerful ones too! The necklaces show how far along in their mastery they are. See the taller one, he’s got a different design, and the tattoos of course. Those are marks of a master air bender. They must have come from the Northern Air Temple, since they—“ Jongin was explaining, when one of the men spoke.

“You could just come out and talk to us directly. You’re not exactly whispering.”

Jongin and Jongade looked at each other in a slight panic before Jongdae patted Chen, who uncurled to let him pass.

“I’m Jongdae, and this is Jongin and the tall one is Zitao.”

“Avatar.” the two bowed deeply and Jongdae’s ears grew red. He still didn’t like people bowing to him. “My name is Sehun, this is Luhan. Prince Kyungsoo sent for us. We’re going to teach you air bending.”

“I’ll try to be a good student. Would you like me to take you to him?” Jongdae offered, Jongin trying to hide his much taller self behind his shorter friend.

“Please.” 

 

 

Baekhyun could hardly contain himself as he crept towards his mother’s room. He could hear her humming, a haunting ancient song that she’d always sung ever since he could remember. He knew the whole thing by heart. Knocking once, twice. The song stopped.

“Come in?” his mother called. “Oh, Baekhyun, darling it’s you. You were just the person I wanted to see.” she smiled.

He returned it; two fake smiles covering up sinister intentions. 

“Of course. What would you like, mother?” 

He was too busy focusing on conjuring a dagger of white fire behind his back he didn’t notice the red-jeweled dagger hidden in her sleeve.

“Come here and sit next to me.” she gestured to the space on the bed next to her. “It’s about your uncle.”

Baekhyun obeyed, for once in his life, and took a seat next to her. 

“I came to talk to you about uncle as well.” he raised his eyebrows innocently.

“You know he wants to put Jongdae on the throne. I’m afraid I cannot let that happen. You’ve seen the Avatar, you know the power he wields. I want you on the throne, Baekhyun. Your uncle, however, would never allow it. You are not his son, and he would do anything, even going so far as to put Chanyeol on the throne—“ Baekhyun spat in disgust, “to keep you off of it. But,” she lowered her voice, “if you’ll help me kill him, I swear I will ensure you are the firelord and we can find Jongdae and keep him locked up until he dies.”

Baekhyun’s eyes lit up at the mention of firelord and his dagger disappeared. He was listening. 

“You know,” his mother continued. “There’s a legend that if you kill the Avatar while he’s in his Avatar state, the cycle will be broken and it will never be reborn.”

“Oh I don’t think we have to worry about that. Jongdae screamed a lot, but one of the things he screamed was that he wasn’t the Avatar anymore. Before, when I fought him, the Avatar state was triggered easily, and yet after torture, there was no sign of it? He’s broken the connection already. There is no Avatar anymore, mother.” he leered triumphantly, “And you said I was disappointing!”

The anger began to bubble in him again at the thought of her words cutting into him.   
“Disappointing!” he hissed again, steam pouring out of his mouth like a smoking cauldron.

“Baekhyun…” his mother warned, but he didn’t listen.

He didn’t listen. He didn’t pay attention to her as she took him by the shoulder, calmly.

“I’m a disappointment?! ALL I EVER WANTED WAS TO MAKE YOU AND MY LOUSY UNCLE PROUD! I JUST WANTED YOU TO LOVE ME LIKE YOU LOVED JONGDAE! YOU NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO ME, NEVER!! I’M THE BEST ONE OF THE THREE, I’M THE MOST WORTHY!! I WILL SIT ON THAT THRONE, AND WHEN I DO, I’LL—“

But he never finished. In one swift movement, the queen plunged the dagger into his chest, driving it all the way up to the hilt. Baekhyun’s voice died on his lips and he coughed up hot blood that ignited the sheets it fell on. He managed a few more rattled breaths, trying to conjure up fire in his palm that flickered out like a flame in the wind. Then his wild eyes glassed over, and he fell backwards onto the burning bed, staring up at the ceiling, the crazed laughter dying from his parted lips.

“I’m sorry, darling, but no matter what you do, Jongdae will always be worth ten of you.” the queen brushed the hair off of his forehead and planted a kiss before walking out into the hallway and screaming.

 

 

“Whoops!” Jongdae grimaced as he accidentally shot a bolt of lightning at Sehun instead of a gust of air.

“YAH!” Sehun ducked and glared. “Watch it, Jongdae! You’re going to fry me alive.”

“I’m sorry.” the avatar offered sheepishly. “I’ll try again. Here.”

Air bending came extremely quickly, but it was so easy to accidentally do the wrong move and fire bend instead, as Jongdae and Sehun quickly learned. Kyungsoo laughed from where he sat next to Chanyeol. He had agreed to allow the fire nation prince out, but only under heavy guard and in the presence of Jongdae. It was perhaps overly cautious, seeing as Chanyeol was still recovering, and seemed to have no malicious intents, but Kyungsoo wasn’t taking any chances. 

“Impressive, Jongdae. I think you’re almost ready.” Sehun nodded, holding up his hands as a sign of defeat after they had sparred a bit more.

“Ready for what, Sehun?” Jongdae relaxed and tilted his head.

“Ready to defeat the firelord, of course. He’s planning an attack as we speak. Zitao says he’ll attack within a few weeks.” the older air bender replied.

“Oh. Right.” Jongdae sighed, clenching his jaw a bit. “It makes sense. He wants to attack before the eclipse. That’s when fire benders loose their power.”

Jongdae headed back towards where Minseok, Jongin, and Kyungsoo were with a grin on his face.

“AHHHH you did so great! You’re an amazing air bender!” Jongin hugged him excitedly, jumping up from where he sat fidgeting next to Minseok.

“Thanks, Nini.” Jongdae smiled.

“I’m so proud of you, Dae.” Minseok took him by the shoulders. “I remember when you couldn’t even tell which berries were poisonous.”

“Ugh, Minseok, I thought we weren’t going to talk about that again!” Jongdae dragged his hands over his face, “So embarrassing!”

He missed the pained look in Chanyeol’s face at the mention of the berries; missed his sad expression when he was burying his face in the fur of Minseok’s overcoat.

“May I go back to my room?” he asked the guard next to him, who nodded.

He had to get out of there. He felt like an outsider, like he didn’t belong. And not just because of the guards. All he wanted to be was a good older brother to Jongdae, but he had failed. And now? Jongdae didn’t need him. Minseok was willing to protect the boy with his life, as he had seen on the ship. What had Chanyeol ever done? Run away as Baekhyun mercilessly tortured him. Kyungsoo gave Jongdae anything he asked for: air bending teachers, water bending teachers, earth bending teachers, food, protection…Chanyeol had never done any of that. He’d barely even share his toys. Jongin and Joggade were clearly close, he’d seen them joking around, heard their laughter as they ran down the halls after each other. All Chanyeol had ever done was yell and and bully his younger brother until he gave up and went away sadly. Jongdae didn’t need him, Jongdae was better off without him. Kyungsoo should have just killed him, Jongdae would have gotten over it eventually. 

“I saw your face back there. Spit it out, what’s bothering you?” a voice made him start suddenly as he sat on his bed staring out the window alone with his thoughts. He turned to find the person he least expected: Kyungsoo.

“Why are you here?” Chanyeol huffed and turned to face the window again, his back to Kyungsoo. “Get out.”

He assumed the other had left, considering it was silent for what seemed like a long time. Then he felt the edge of the bed dip and groaned as he glanced behind him to see the Prince still there with his arms crossed, staring at him.

“You’ve forgotten, fire prince, I’ve gotten quite good at neutral jing, which is sitting and doing nothing. Well, it’s more waiting and listening, but you get my point. It is the embodiment of earth bending. Strong, patient, immobile. You, you burn out easily.” he flashed a triumphant smirk.

“UGH!” Chanyeol’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he swung his legs around to face Kyungsoo, who waited expectantly. Finally, he spoke.

“Why did you let me live?”

“I told you. Because Jongdae begged your life from me.” Kyungsoo retorted bluntly. “He needs you. He wants his brother.”

“No he doesn’t, though. Jongdae already has everything he needs. He has a brother; Minseok’s a better brother to him than I could ever hope to be. He has a friend, he has a protector. I could have been all that, but I wasn’t. And now he’s found them somewhere else.” Chanyeol objected, tears pricking at the sides of his eyes. He broke off before his voice cracked still being too proud to cry in front of Kyungsoo.

“It doesn’t matter. Jongdae wants YOU. Trust me, I have no idea why, but he wants you to be his brother. Be his brother, Chanyeol. Cherish having him, because Jongdae is loyal to the Avatar no matter what, and he will not hesitate to sacrifice himself.” the other’s gaze grew distant and he set his jaw. Then he continued on in a much softer tone, “Be his brother while it lasts, because the chances are, one day, you won’t have it anymore.”  
“I don’t know if I can.” 

A thousand thoughts were running through Chanyeol’s head. How on earth could he make up years and years of being a terrible piece of garbage of a brother? Did Jongdae really want him back? 

“Jongdae is ready to forgive you. He already has. Just let him in.” Kyungsoo paused, “He would do anything to have his older brother back.”

The Earth Kingdom Prince went to leave, but Chanyeol stopped him before he walked out.

“The previous Avatar….he was your brother, wasn’t he?”

Kyungsoo didn’t reply, but left without another word. He didn’t need to, however. Chanyeol already knew he was right.


End file.
